The Seventh Year and Beyond
by story-angel
Summary: COMPLETE When one of Lily's friends gets together with a marauder, and Lily has to spend more time with James, will she finaly fall for him? I sure think so! Please Review, i love reviews! No flames. JL, SOC, ROC.
1. The Train

Okay, I am doing this story on Microsoft word so it will probably be better than my others. I hoping that this will be my best story yet. Don't forget to R&R on your way out! This is a Lily/James story with my characters. Now, no one can blame me for un-charachterness.

Disclaimer: not mine.

Ch.1, The Train 

Lily Evans was a seventeen year old witch, who was just woken up by her alarm clock. Since she was a witch, she grabbed her wand and put a silencing charm on it. She was about to drift off to sleep, when she remembered what day it was. She was then so excited, that she jumped out of bed and threw on some clothes. She quickly brushed her bed-destroyed red hair. Then headed down for a quick breakfast.

She greeted he mother and father, ignored the glare her sister sent her and grabbed a piece of toast. You see, Lily was going to Hogwarts this year, and was very excited as she was Head Girl.

"Are you all packed dear?" her mother asked kindly.

"Yep. I triple checked." Lily said.

"Well then how come I found your charms book on the coffee table last night?"

Lily grinned sheepishly. She loved reading ahead for the classes, and charms was her personal favorite. "You see, I was all packed, but then I wanted to do some quick reading, so I took it out. Besides, it is in my room now." she said, with her wand behind her back, levitating her book upstairs.

"Well I suppose that by 'in your room' you meant 'floating upstairs'?" her dad said with a grin.

"Darn." Lily said, while placing jam on her toast.

"When does your train leave anyway?" he dad asked, the floating book subject far from his mind.

"11:00 sharp. I got plenty of time." Lily said.

"Um…dear, it is 10:00 now. You have to be there in an hour!" her mother said frantically.

Lily sighed. Her mother was very nice, but could also be forgetful at times. "Mom don't you remember? I got my apparation license this year. I am going to leave in half an hour." Lily said.

Her mother's face beamed in rememberance. However, her sister just snarled, "Cant you leave sooner?"

"Now Petunia, that's not very nice!" her father said.

Lily had gotten used to her sisters taunting. "Don't worry Petunia, I can leave whenever I want, "she turned to her parents, "though, I will need to find the Heads compartment, so I should be leaving soon. I will go get my things."

Soon the entire Evans family (minus Petunia) was gathered in the living room to bid Lily farewell. Lily hugged he parents goodbye, and with trunk in hand, she disapperated with a loud pop.

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Lily apperated in to platform 9 ¾.She heard load pops everywhere as people apparated in to say goodbye. She looked up at the large scarlet steam engine and with one last look at the station, climbed aboard.

Lily headed down to the compartment that her and her two best friends had shared since they met in first year. She wasn't surprised to see her best friend Len, already there. She was usually early, not wanting to be late. Len had very long brown hair that was usually kept in a braid. The braid flowed down just past her rear. She also had deep blue eyes that were hidden by glasses. She was the kind of person one would go to with a problem. She seemed to have an answer to everything. Get her angry enough though, and she will get pent up for a while. Even though she admitted she was chicken, she could be brave when she had to. She was also very loyal, and helped whenever needed.

"Hi Lily. How are you? Len greeted.

"Pretty good actually. You?" Lily said, with a smile. However, she didn't get a chance to respond, they heard yelling. They both sighed at the same time. They were at it again.

Lily and Len stuck their heads out of the compartment door carefully, being aware of flying objects. Len, once seeing that there were none, stepped forward to be peacemaker.

"Melissa, Sirius, what happened this time?" Len asked in a very calm voice.

"Black bumped into me that's what!" Melissa shouted. She was the type of person that got angry easily. She had shoulder length straight black hair, and it sort of vibrated whenever she yelled. Which was often. She had soft brown eyes though, and hardly ever took her anger out on her friends. She was very loyal, which was probably why she was in Griffindor. She wasn't as studious as Lily and Len though.

"It's not my fault you can't watch where you're going! I was minding my own business, when Smith bumped into me!"

"Sorry guys, but we cant help here, we have to get to the Prefects meeting. Good luck." Lily said, leaving with Len.

Lily did have to admit, she was curious as to who the Head Boy was. However, as she entered the Prefects carriage, she stared in disbelief. Potter was sitting in the Head Boy seat, with a matching pin.

"Potter? You can't be Head Boy!" It was a statement, not a question.

"Why not Evans?" James said with a smirk.

"Sorry for the surprise Lily, but he is. The rest of us thought that Dumbledore had gone mental, but he didn't." Remus Lupin said.

That was them. James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. They had a group and they called themselves the Marauders. They were the cause of most pranks that went on at Hogwarts. James and Sirius had gone into a competition in the third year, to see who got fifty detentions first. They tied. Since then, every year, they upped the goal by fifty. This year it was two hundred. Remus was the only Marauder with even a slice of responsibility. He was also the only Marauder on a first name basis with all the girls. There was one more Marauder, Peter but he was more of a hopeless follower that the others just let in on the pranks. He wasn't nearly as handsome as the others, and only got a date when James or Sirius set him up with someone.

"Hi guys. Oh yeah, sorry that we're late Lily. "Len said with a smirk. She had replaced Lily when she got Head Girl. She also had a sarcastic joke most of the time.

"Oh ha ha. Come on, let's get the meeting started." Lily said.

After the meeting, Lily and Len went back to their compartment since the Marauders had taken over the Heads compartment. As they opened the door, they found Melissa, fuming and finishing a transfig essay.

Each girl had specialties. Lily was the charms wiz, Len could un-jynx or jynx anything. And Melissa could transfigure a quill into a lion (figure of speech).

But that wasn't all. They all had a secret, and they had never told anyone. It was Melissa's idea in third year. She had just gotten over an argument with Sirius about her being predictable. So, she convinced Lily and Len to help her with something completely un-predictable.

"Hi Melissa. Nice summer?" Lily asked kindly.

"Oh you know, not good, not bad. Yours?" Melissa asked.

"The normal. Get congratulated by mom and dad, get spoiled by Gram and Gramps, ignore Petunia, you know. Anyway, why do you always leave your homework 'till the last minute?" Lily asked.

"I don't leave it, I just _forget_ about it. Oh yeah and thanks for the screaming book Lily, my parents _loved_ it." Melissa said with a smile. She loved to annoy her parents in any way possible. It is a miracle that she and the Marauders don't get along to well.

"Anyway girls, we are taking bets on what will happen this year! I call five sickles on that Miss Goody-Goody will get a boyfriend by Valentines Day this year!" Lily announced in delight.

Ever since the girls had discovered what a classic goody-goody two shoes that Len was, they had tried to convince her to do other things. Like drink alcohol, and not mentally smacking herself when she accidentally swore. Also, thanks to an over-protective muggle family, she had only ever had a boyfriend once, and he was completely normal. No sense of homour, not many manners, that sort of thing.

Lily was a goody-goody two shoes too, but she was much more the type of person that would get into trouble. It had always been her dream since she came to Hogwarts to get Head Girl. So she had, but she was easier to convince her to go through with _the secret_. Len, or as they sometimes called her, Miss Goody-Goody, had taken a month to convince. But then they found her weakness, she had a sense of adventure. They had convinced her.

They were placing bets about a blushing Len, when the compartment door opened.

"Hello dears, would you like something from the trolly?" The young woman who ran the trolley said.

All three girls jumped up at once. They shared another thing. A sweet tooth.

"I will have one box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and 3 Pumpkin Pastilles please." Lily said.

"I will have… 20 chocolate frogs please." Melissa said.

"And I'll have one extra-large bag of Sherbert Balls please." Len said, and all three girls licked their lips.

As they paid their money, and got the candy. Then, the worst sight for Lily and Melissa came down the hall.

"Oi! Trolley lady, come here!"

All three girls sighed. Sirius Black shared only one thing with them that they knew of, a sweet tooth. However, unlike the girls, he got sugar high. And a sugar high Sirius was dangerous.

"_Yes _Mister Black, what is it this time?" The lady said, obviously having said this before.

"Everything ya got! I heard that there isn't a Hogsmead day for two weeks after we get there…"

The girls felt extremely lucky that they had already gotten their candy. Then, Remus and James came sprinting down the hall, followed as usual by Peter Pettigrew.

"Padfoot! There you are! Oh, hi girls. You should get your candy before Sirius gets there." Remus warned.

"Thanks for the warning Remus, but we just got it." Len said, holding up the bag of Sherberts.

"Ohhhh, you like Sherbert Balls too Len? Their Remus's favourtie." James said with a smirk.

Remus blushed. Then, smacked James above the head. Then however, they heard a scream. They all rushed into the next compartment, and saw a completely normal sight. Sirus was flirting. The girl had apparently screamed in delight when he entered the room, as it was well known that Sirius Black was the most popular boy in the school, next to James of course. Any girl that became his girlfriend was automatically given status. However, almost every girl in Hogwarts had status then, as he had the reputation for most girlfriends and fan clubs in Hogwarts history.

James and Remus rolled their eyes and dragged a protesting Sirius out of the compartment, explaining that he was sugar high and should not be around people until it had worn off. The girl sulked but excepted. Remus muttered a quick 'see ya later' and left.

Meanwhile, the girls had left when they saw what happened, and were currently in their own compartment, eating. More like, Lily was examing beans before eating them and all the ones that didn't pass her test were put in a separate pile, for which Lily had refused to tell the others. Melissa was searching for escaped chocolate frogs, and Len, hovering slightly above the ground, was helping. Then, after the frogs were found, Melissa perked up.

"So, when should we plan the first Girls Night?" she said, a hint of joy in her eyes.

Lily and Len perked up immediately. They both loved Girls Nights, or GN, as they sometimes called them when being overheard was possible. GN's are the only time when they use _the secret_.

"As soon as possible." They both said in sincrenisation.

" How about tommorow?" Melissa said.

" But what about homework?" Len asked.

"That's exactly why we should do it tomorrow Len. This is NEWT's year. The teachers are bound not to give us much homework on the second day! But they will for the rest of the year." Lily said.

Len thought for a moment. Her point was logical. So, she nodded.

So, how'd ya like the first chapie? I like it. If anyone that has read my other story is kind enough to review, I would really appreciate a comparison.

Note to everyone: R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R&R!


	2. The First Day

Thank you for your reviews. Don't worry, you'll know the secret in a few chapies…maybe less. But I have to make the chapies a little short now, I just wanted to get in all the train stuff first. Enjoy!

**_Ch.2,The First Day _**

The girls sat down in three seats near the front of the Great Hall. These were the only seats left, and they were beside the Marauders. Trying to ignore them, they started chatting about their summers, when the Sorting Hat came out with the transfig teacher, Professor McGonnagle. The Hat sung its song. It was pretty normal, but one part stood out in Lily's mind:

_As the reign of the evil one persists,_

_Only one way to defeat him exists._

_The love of two people different,_

_For the hope of all the world,_

_Take everything different and place it aside,_

_And make con-tact,_

_Because with secrets,_

_Opposites will never attract._

Lily wasn't the only one that noticed. Several people glanced at the Hat, wondering where that came from.

"What was that all about?" Melissa whispered. It had been obvious that the evil one was Voldemort, but the rest had everyone guessing.

But Lily didn't get a chance to answer, as Dumbledore had stood, and silence had fallen.

"Welcome to another year! Now, I overheard that apparently children don't listen as well as they do before they eat, I will give you the notices now." he smiled as several groans filled the room, especially from the direction of the Marauders. "As many of you know, and some who _should_ know, the Forbidden Forest is off-limits. And magic is not allowed in the corridors, even though that rule has hardly ever been followed…and the list of forbidden things that our caretaker, Mr. Snubbs, created, has grown to include repeteating whoopee-cushions. Now, you may eat." And with a clap of his hands, food appeared.

As the girls loaded their plates with food, Len not taking much (vegetarians aren't that interested in roasts. She normally ate later in the kitchens after feasts).When James glanced at her plate and asked, "Not feeling well?

Len looked up. "No. I am fine. It's just that I am a vegetarian. Didn't you know?"

"Nah. None of us really pay attention to what other people eat. Just what we eat." James said, however, it was barely comprehensible, as he had stuffed his mouth full of food.

Lily screwed her face up in discust." Cant you be polite for one second Potter?"

"Bi vam kolite," he swalowed. "Cant you not yell at me for one second?"

"Well, I am heading down to the kitchens. I suddenly lost my appetite. Anyone coming?" Len said quickly. Everyone had known since fourth year that trying to stop an argument between them was a waste of time.

"I'm in." Remus said so quickly that Sirius gave him a look. But then he agreed too. However, then Melissa refused, saying it was her turn as referee. Peter joined. So they all left hurriedly as the small war started.

Len led the way and Remus commented "I didn't know that you knew the way to the kitchens Len."

Len smiled. "I am a vegetarian, so I always come after the feasts. They aren't exactly veggie-friendly." Meanwhile, Sirius kept staring a Remus. As they ate, the three Marauders learned things about her that they didn't know. They were actually pretty good friends by the time they parted ways. When the other three entered the boy's dormitories, Sirius said, while smiling and shaking his head, "Moony my friend, you have got it bad."

"What?"

"Just what I said." Sirius said, a smug look on his face.

"Well what did you mean when you said that?" Remus asked slowly, as if talking to a very ill person.

"You have got a crush."

"Who's got a crush?" James said as he appeared, all thoughts of Lily out of his mind.

"Why Prongs, ickle Moony has a wittle crush." Sirius said.

James glanced at Peter, "Sugar?" Peter nodded.

"I don't have a crush!" Remus protested.

"Oh come on, I saw the way you looked at her. The way you jumped at the opportunity to go to the kitchens with her…" Sirius said, drawing out the drama for James, who was dying of anticipation.

"Who is she?" James asked.

"Why, Moony has a crush on Griffindors very own Lenny-Len." Sirius said.

"No I don't!" Remus said, while blushing like mad.

James sided with Sirius," Well then, why are you blushing?" he teased.

"I-wha-no-"

"And stuttering?" Peter added.

"I-oh I am going to bed." Remus gave up, defeated.

The others laughed as he closed his bed hangings. The others did the same.

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The nest morning, all the girls woke up excited, as the first GN was tonight. They had agreed to do any homework they got before the left. They all looked at their timetables.

_**Monday tables**_

_Lily's table_

_9-10, Transfiguration_

_10:05-11:30, Charms_

_11:30-12:15, Lunch_

_12:15-12:30, Free_

_12:30-1:30, Care of Magical Creatures_

_1:45-3:00, Arithmancy_

_Len's Table_

_9-10, Transfiguration_

_10:05-11:30, Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_11:30-12:15, Lunch_

_12:15-12:30, Free_

_12:30-1:30, Care of Magical Creatures_

_1:45-3:00, Ancient Runes_

_Melissa's table_

_9-10, Transfiguration_

_10:05-11:30, Potions_

_11:30-12:15, Lunch_

_12:15-12:30, Free_

_12:30-1:30, Care of Magical Creatures_

_1:45-3:00, Divination_

"This is great! We have almost the same time-tables!" Lily exclaimed, looking at all three. As the girls headed down to transfig, Len found herself hoping that a certain Marauder would be there.

As they got there, as they were early (Melissa had wanted to be early) there was no one else there. So the girls sat down at the front of the class, and people started arriving. They found that they had this class with the Ravenclaws. At least it wasn't the Slytherins. Lily's heart sank, Len's heart rose, and Melissa's heart fell as the Marauders (minus Peter) walked confidently into class. They took seats in the back, and put their heads together.

"Good morning class. Welcome to Advanced Transfiguration. The only reason that you are in this class is because… (she spent the next five minutes talking about NEWT's and stuff like that) Now I have decided to start with a review of things that are bound to come up in your exams. I have here, a pop quiz on how to recognize when an animal is actually an animagus. Would Miss Smith be so kind as to hand them out?"

Melissa got up from her seat, smiling to herself. It was quite obvious that she had secured the 'teacher's pet' position. As she handed out the papers, she passed the Marauders, and overheard what they were saying. It seemed that they were pestering Remus about something.

"…you've got to tell her Moony…"

"You guys keep insisting that I like her more than a good friend…"Remus argued, blushing slightly

"What are you doing here Smith? Your conversations so boring that you have to listen to others?" Sirius said.

"No Black, if you were listening to the Professor, you would know that I am handing out a pop quiz." Melissa said coolly, knowing how much he hates pop quizzes.

"What? Hey Minnie, since when do we have a quiz? It's the first day!" Sirius yelled to the proffesor.

"Exactly. It will show how much you studied over the summer Mr. Black. I expect you all to get a good mark."

By the end of the class, they had all finished the tests, Lily, Len and Melissa were silently laughing at the idea of how to recognize an animagus.

"So, the first GN tonight?" Lily asked.

"Yep. I cant wait. See ya guys, I have to get to DADA and it's on the third floor. Bye!" Len shouted as she jogged down the hall.

"Yeah, I have to get to charms. See ya later Mel." Lily shouted as she ran off.

"Bye!"

_At charms._

As their new and very short Professor walked down the rows of seats pairing people up, he stopped at Lily.

"Miss Evans, since you have the highest marks in the class, I will pair you with the person with the next highest marks. Mr. Potter will be your partner." He said with a smile.

Lily sighed. He obviously didn't know that they were at each other's throats every two seconds. As Potter walked over, she was expecting some sort of smart comment, but he just sat down and took out his books. _Maybe he changed_, a little voice in her mind said. But Lily just shook it away. As they practiced Protean charms, though, that voice came back again and again.

_At Defense Against the Dark Arts._

Len sat down in the second row from the front. When Lily and Melissa weren't there, she normally sat alone. So she was surprised when somebody sat down beside her.

"Hi Remus." She greeted.

"Hey Len. Where's Lily and Melissa?" Remus asked kindly

"They have this class on Tuesday. Anyway, where is James and Sirius?" Len replied.

"Same." But they stopped chatting there, as Professor Darisson came in. He started the class off with the normal NEWT's lecture. Then he started discussing Patronuses. It was clear that they would have questions after, so Len made sure she took plenty of notes.

"And finally, you will do questions 1 through 5 to be handed in tomorrow. You are dismissed."

Len headed down to lunch. As usual, she was meeting Lily and Melissa there. They discussed their classes, and aside from Lily ranting on about James, nothing worth mentioning happened. They started discussing the upcoming GN, not knowing that a certain somebody was listening to their every word.

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As James, Sirius and Remus arrived in the Griffindor common room, the Griffindor gossip, Greta Garson, who felt it was her obligation to notify the Marauders of anything, came up to them and told them what she had heard.

"Anyway, I figured out how you can get up to the Girls Dormitories. Just use a broom. It might be good if you can get some dirt on them. The school could do with a laugh." She said.

The boys made the arrangements. Remus would stay behind because he didn't like the idea of entering the Girls Dormitories. He would stand watch. Then James and Sirius would fly up and land on the landing. Then they would cover themselves with the cloak and enter. Then Remus headed to the library to do the questions that Darisson had assigned.

He wasn't surprised to see Len and her friends there. He watched, as she looked cautiously at the librarian, and saw that she was occupied. Then, to Remus's astonishment, she popped a sherbert ball into her mouth. Her friends elapsed in silent giggles as the librarian turned to see Len trying to conceal the fact that she was floating two inches off the floor. Remus tried hard not to laugh. Especially since she succeeded. Under the pretense of dropping her quill of course. He went over and sat down.

"Hi girls. Mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all. How are you Remus?" Lily asked.

"Oh I'm good. A little tired, but good. I just want to finish those questions that Darisson assigned." Remus replied kindly.

"Same here. "Len commented.

"How come I think your already done?" Remus asked with a smile.

"What on earth do you mean?" Len asked in mock surprise.

"I mean that you really should be more careful when you eat Sherbert Balls in the library." He said with a smile.

Len pressed her lips together ( a habit ) as she smiled sheepishly. Just then, the clock chimed, and all three girls sat up in alarm.

"What was that?" Remus asked.

"That was the alarm we set to tell us when were almost late for COMC. Sorry Remus, we gotta go."Len said very hurriedly as she gathered up her books and joined the other girls in sprinting down the hall as soon as they left the library.

Only then he realized that he was late for Arithmancy. So he also sprinted.

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At COMC, the girls arrived only just in time. Len was not a very good runner, as she didn't have the best of conditioned lungs. As they arrived breathless, Professor Kettleburn entered the small paddock around the greenhouses with several strange animals. They realized that it was the same cat-like species as the caretaker's cat.

"Welcome class. No, I am not going to start of by lecturing you about NEWT's, as I am sure you have had enough of that. Now this fascinating creature is of the same species as Mr. Snubbs's cat. They are called Catculls. They are very smart, and have an amazing sense of direction. They are usually small and grey, and very light. Well? Are you writing this down?"

As the scratching of quills was heard, he nodded in satisfaction, and started ranting on about how smart they were, and hinting that these things might be part of NEWT's. However, to the delight of Lily, Len and Melissa there was no homework.

Next chapie... as soon as I upload it!


	3. The Secret

Once again, thank you for your reviews. Don't worry, I think the secret will come out to the reader in this chapter. Please note that since I hate Peter so much, he will be away visiting his…uh… sick grandpa. Enjoy!

_**Ch.3, The Secret **_

The Marauders waited for the girls to come through the Portrait hole, under the pretense of doing non-existent homework. Soon, James spoke up.

"Where are they? It is already 8:00, and they didn't have much homework." He complained.

"Well, if you really want to know, why not use the Marauder's map to see where they are? " Remus suggested.

Sirius clamped his arm around his shoulder, "How did you get so smart Moony?"

James called them as he took out the map. They all exclaimed as they saw three dots labeled ' _Lily Evans, Lenilah Candel, Melissa Smith' _climbing the stairs around Griffindor tower.

"Lily and Len I can understand, they could be doing rounds together, but Melissa doesn't need to be with them." Remus said.

"What if they're having their little Girls Night in the tower? You know, so no one could sneak in on them. I can see Lily thinking of something like that. But Len agreeing to it? That's what I don't understand." Sirius said.

"Well, are we going to follow them or not?" James said as he held out the invisibility cloak. As the others nodded, he threw it over them.

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The three girls were chatting about what they would do if they saw the Marauders when in the secret form. They were laughing at Melissa's idea, when they came to their goal, a window. It was very high. Perfect for take-off.

Melissa looked around the corner. No one was there. The girls made sure that they weren't being watched, (at about this time, the Marauders are starting to come, but they are still about 10 minutes away) and when they were satisfied, they transformed.

(Refer to ch.1 for an explanation as to why they are transforming.)

Then, where Lily, Len and Melissa had been, there were three animals in their places. The first was an eye-catching pheonix. It had practically no gold feathers, it was all red. However, it did have several gold feathers on it's back, and if you looked closely enough, they formed an L . It also had sparkling green eyes.

The second was a brown owl. It was very large for an owl, but the main thing about it was what looked like pure gold talons. Its blue eyes radiated wisdom and the odd bit of playfulness.

The third was a raven. Nothing unusual about it, except it had no other colour on it but black. Even the talons were black. Only one thing wasn't black, and that were its mischievous brown eyes.

No one in Hogwarts knew that these three birds were actually Lily, Len and Melissa. Melissa had convinced them to do something unpredictable, and that was to become Animagus. They started researching in secret in third year, and actually did it in the fifth. On GNs they transformed and flew around. Len was probably the only vegetarian owl in the world.

The three took off from the windowsill and hadn't been flying for five minutes when they saw the Marauders standing at the window. How they got there without them noticing, the birds had no idea. They landed in a nearby tree and started talking in birdian. (Is that a word? I don't think so…) Melissa wanted to carry out her idea. Lily agreed. But Len wasn't so agreeable. She flat out refused. So, Lily and Melissa went over to the window. Then, the Marauders leaned out, just as they hoped they would. The owl shook her head in hilarity as they carried out their plan on everyone except Remus.

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"Ahh ----! That stupid bird just used me as a toilet!" Sirius shouted, trying to grab hold of the cawing raven. Who looked eerily like it was laughing.

"You're not the only one! That ---- pheonix!" James shouted angrily. Meanwhile, Remus was attempting to hold in laughter with all his strength, as was the owl. As Sirius used his wand to free himself and James from _excrement_, the owl flew over to the other birds and hooted a warning. Then all three birds looked past the Marauders, into the hall. There, from the shadows, was the caretaker's cat.

Everyone hated this cat. (who in my eyes is the mother of Ms. Norris.) She could practically sniff students who were out of bed. As the Marauders backed against the wall, they were very surprised to see the birds swoop in and confront the cat. While the cat was distracted with its friends, the owl picked it up, and with help from the pheonix, took it out the window.

The Marauders were stunned for a moment, before running to the window, only to see the birds in the distance, flying away. They stopped at the lake. It was impossible to see which bird was which. Then, the two birds carrying the hissing cat, all of a sudden dropped her into the lake. The Marauders roared with laughter. Those were some really smart birds. The birds came back with gleeful expressions, for an animal. However, they didn't return to the tower window, they went to the Griffindor common room window. The Marauders decided it was time to go.

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"I-I can't believe you dropped her in the lake!" Melissa roared, as they returned to the dormitory they shared.

"Hey, it was Len's idea! I just helped. But did you see the look on their faces when we used your idea, Melissa? It was priceless!" Lily said.

"You know, I just hope that that cat can swim…" Len commented.

"Don't worry Len, we dumped her shallowly. Come on, its late. Let's go to bed." Lily suggested.

The girls pulled the hangings across their beds, and drifted off to sleep.

"Can you believe how smart those birds were? They worked together too" Remus said.

"Yeah. I don't like their original deed, but by dumping that stupid cat in the lake, they redeemed themselves." Sirius said joyfully.

"Still, don't you think it's a strange combination? I mean, a raven, an owl and a _pheonix_?" James asked.

"Well yeah, but look at us, a dog, a rat, a stag and a werewolf! If anyone saw us then they would think the same thing!" Sirius said.

"So you're saying that their animagus?" Remus asked coolly.

"They acted pretty human like to me…"

"But they used us as a toilet! No human in their right mind at Hogwarts would do that to _us._" James argued.

Sirius seemed satisfied with this answer, as he said no more about the subject.

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The girls looked at their timetables. They had different ones for Tuesday.

_Lily:_

_9-10, Defense Against the Dark Arts._

_10:05-11:30, Potions._

_11:30-12:15, Lunch._

_12:15-12:30,_ _Free._

_12:35-1:35, Arithmancy._

_1:40-3, Herbology._

_11:00pm-midnight-Astronomy._

_Len:_

_9-10, Charms_

_10:05-11:30, Potions_

_11:30-12:15, Lunch_

_12:15-12:30, Free_

_12:35-1:35, Ancient Runes_

_1:40-3, Herbology_

_11:00pm-midnight, Astronomy_

_Melissa:_

_9-10, Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_10:05-11:30, Charms_

_11:30-12:15, Lunch_

_12:15-12:30, Free_

_12:35-1:35, Divination_

_1:40-3, Herbology_

_11pm-midnight, Astronomy_

As she looked at the timetables, Lily scowled. They had barely any classes together!

Anyway, the day went on slowly. On the way to Herbology, the girls met, and discussed what had happened. James had tossed a firework into Snape's couldron, and thanks to him they had a 3-foot essay on the potion they were doing. Lily had several Arithmancy questions, Len had to translate a whole page of runes and Melissa had to keep a 'dream diary' as a revision.

Len hated Herbology. It was her worst subject. She was fine in the written areas, and that was probably what got her to pass the last 6 years.

When they got there, they were partnered up. They were going to start an all-term project, and that was to start with a plant as a seedling and they would be marked on how well it grew over the weeks. They could choose any plant they wished. Lily and Melissa, James and Sirius and Len and Remus.

"Hi Len, how are you?" he greeted kindly.

"Oh, I'm just _dandy._ This is my worst subject. Any plant I ever kept died within a week!" Len complained.

Remus had trouble holding back laughter. So this is why he had been paired with her. He was relatively good in this subject, so Professor Green must've assumed that he could help her. "Well, if you want I could try to help…"

"That'd be great, but I don't have trouble with the written stuff, just the practicall."Len said. Meanwhile, Melissa and Lily were choosing a venomous tentacula. James and Sirius were choosing different plant, while watching Remus.

"Well first we need to choose a plant. How about this. I will take care of the plant, and you can do most of the written stuff." Remus compromised.

Len smiled. "Sounds great. What plant?"

So they all spent the rest of the day choosing their plant, then asking Professor Green for the seeds. They chose a mood flower bush. It sprouted flower that can tell its holder's moods. They got the plant and Remus placed it in a pot filled with earth and fertilizer while Len looked up how to care for one. They found that they worked rather well together. Sirius pointed this out to James and they both snickered. At the end of class, they were instructed to leave the pots where they were, and set the assignment of describing what the plant should look like when it is fully grown. Len informed Remus that she would take care of it. She was going to join Lily and Melissa, when James and Sirius came up to Remus.

"Mate, you should just ask her out already." Sirius said.

"I cant. She'll just reject me. Not to mention what I am. If she ever found out…" Remus justified.

James shook his head." I don't think so."

Remus looked at the retreating form of Len. She was laughing with her friends. She looked so… happy. But now wasn't the time. Even if she did except him, it would make working with her harder. He probably would ask her soon, but not now.


	4. Crushes and Dates

Hello everyone! Now I know that you're all probably wondering 'isn't this story supposed to be about Lily and James?' Well it is, but I have to have one relationship lead into it. For those of you who haven't figured it out, I won't mention who. Read and enjoy!

**_Ch.4, Crushes and Dates_**

Time seemed to pass quickly. The girls hadn't gotten time for another meeting, the Marauders pranked, and Len and Remus's plant had begun to sprout flowers. They were very small buds, and weren't mature enough to accurately determine the mood of a person. Melissa had been put in the Hospital wing as a result from a teething Venomous Tentacula. Soon it was November, and the Quiditch season. Everyone was excited about the first game, Griffindor versus Slytherin. And, it was a school record, Lily and James hadn't argued for a total of one week. Nor had he asked her out. On the day of the Quiditch match, Lily, Melissa, Len and Remus walked down to the pitch together.

The game went well. That is, until time out was called by James, and the team sank to the ground. About five minutes later, the chaser came up to the four.

"Hi, Len is it? Listen, we think that someone jynxed James's broom. I was asked to see if you could do anything about it." He said.

"Sure. I'll see what I can do." Len said

As she walked over to the team, she got many stares from the audience. James handed her his broom., and a Snitch. As she held them, the Snitch tried vainly to fly away. She found that his broom had been very simply jynxed to repel the small ball. She took out her wand and muttered the counter-jynx. The Snitch automatically stopped moving. She gave James his broom back, saying it was back to normal. Then, the referee came over and she reported what had happened. She was told to go up and make an announcement as to why the game had been halted.

"Hello? Can everyone hear me? Good. Now I am sure you're all wondering why the game was halted. James's broom had been jynxed to repel the Snitch. No one was caught, but in my opinion there are suspects…( she glares at the Slytherins) anyway, the game should re-start any minute now… how do I turn this off?"

The others were laughing when she came back. She smiled sheepishly and took her seat beside Remus. The game continued, and Griffindor won by 60 points. As everyone flooded out of the stadium, the Griffindor team came up to them and shouted above the cheers of the crowd "Come on! Party in the common room!"

The party was great. Len had been pleasantly surprised when there were vegetarian dishes. She was one of the guests of honour, as she had been the one to cure James's broom. She finally left the party at ten thirty and dropped into bed with her roommates, who had also just got up.

Len had been very happy when she learned that a Hogsmead day had been planned for her upcoming birthday, which was conveniently a Saturday. She made sure that she had all her work done for that day.

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Remus glanced across the Three Broomsticks to see something that shocked him. He saw Lily, Len and Melissa. But they weren't eating alone like usual, but had a bunch of seventh year girls with them. He was also surprised to see Lily tie a small, colorful and pointed hat on her head. He then saw the barkeeper, Madame Rosemerta (mother of the other Madam Rosemerta from the HP series) placing a large chocolate cake infront of Len. The cake had seventeen little candles on it. There was a small mountain of presents beside Melissa. It was her birthday!

He watched with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as she tried to blow out all the candles. However, many girls erupted in laughter as one would not blow out. He remembered something from his Muggle Studies class. If a person did not blow out all of their birthday candles, however many were left became the number of boyfriends/girlfriends that that person had. Len placed her head in her arms, and came up laughing and blushing as she was teased. She started to open her presents and was obviously happy to get a very large bag of Sherbert Balls from Lily and Melissa. She popped one in her mouth and she floated about five inches off the floor. It seemed that Lily had charmed them to make them more potent.

"Isn't it cute Padfoot? Moony can't take his eyes off of her…"

"Indeed it is Prongs… maybe she would like to know that bit of info?"

"Oh no you don't." Remus said.

"Well, now that we _finally_ got you're attention, would you like to tell us what you want?" James said.

Remus blushed. They ate, and happened to leave at the same time as the birthday party was having a snowball fight. It was quite obvious that Len was the target. She was soaked. However the festivities ended when a group of Slytherins came up.

"Well, we hear it's the Mudblood's birthday. Hope it's horrible, Mudblood." Lucious Malfoy spat.

Several people fumed up. But Len just said calmly ," Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me." In a rhyming voice.

Several people laughed at the confused look on Malfoy's face. Then, he spat as a comeback, "So I heard about you're dear old grandma. _Terrible _what happened to her, really. I heard it was all because of you…"

Len paused only for a second, but it was enough to see he had hit a sore spot. But she replied, "It wasn't. "

Malfoy sneered. "Oh but it _was._ If you weren't alive, then she would be. How does it feel to have her death on you're shoulders? The Dark Lord wouldn't've gone after you're family if you didn't exist…"

"It wasn't my fault!" she yelled, with a fire in her eyes that the Marauders had never seen before. But it was quite obvious that Lily and Melissa had, as they started to clear people away. But Remus refused to move. He didn't know that she had another side to her. He wanted to see it.

Malfoy had recoiled slightly at the look of fire she had, but he didn't back down. He continued to taunt he until it was made quite clear she had had enough. Before he could respond, she wiped out her wand with a speed that was astonishing. She yelled something, and something came from her wand and headed to the Slytherins. Malfoy was hit first. It was a very complicated jynx, but she was the resident expert. His skin started to wrinkle and he got a hunchback. His hair gradually fell out, and his eyes drooped. This happened to all the Slytherins. It was obvious that they weren't actually aging, but it sure looked like it. And Len sent another spell at them, making their robes change colour. They were laughed out of Hogsmead, while Len had a satisfied smile on her face. She turned to the stunned Marauders and other spectators. "Anyone else want to insult my grandma?" she said, tapping her wand in her hand. Not surprisingly, no one did. Then she smiled, all hint of fire gone. "Come on Lily, Melissa, lets go to…"and she walked off.

Remus was impressed. He did like that side of her, the one that had fun and didn't worry about getting caught. Now, he was even more infatuated by her.

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Surprisingly, Len had not gotten in trouble for jynxing Malfoy. She was the hero of the school, as he had not been able to get the spell off himself and was to proud to go to Nurse Pomfrey.

One day, when Len and Lily were sitting in the library, with Remus watching her them from a distance, Melissa came over to them as she had just got a rumor update. She came over very flustered. Then, she said excitedly "I just got a rumor update! Listen, Max Edgecomb heard from Lee Chang, who heard from Greta who heard from her boyfriend who shares a dorm with the Marauders, that Len has a crusher! And guess who it is? It's Remus Lupin!" she said, not waiting for an answer.

Remus froze. Len knew. ---- that kid. He glanced at her, waiting for her to shout 'what' and go to find him to confront him. But she didn't. He watched interestedly as she blushed a cute shade of pink, and her hand rose to her mouth. Instead of angrily, she spoke softly "What?" Was it possible that she felt the same way for him?

Melissa repeated what she said. Lily started teasing Len. Len continued to blush and he looked away quickly as she looked at him. But then Lily got her attention and she looked away. Remus took that opportunity to slip out of the library. It would be awkward tonight when they reported things about the plant.

Remus stalked up to the dorm and found Greta's boyfriend. He glared at him and was about to hex him into oblivion when he thought that if he was going to have any chance with her, he would have to try not to get into trouble. So he saved his complaints 'till the others returned. Just as he was thinking this though, James and Sirius walked through the portrait hole.

"That was so funny!"

"Yeah, did you see the look on his face?"

Remus walked forward and said "Guys, she knows."

"Who knows what Moony?" James said, still laughing.

"Len! She knows I have a crush on her!"

They sobered up immediately. "What? But you didn't tell her did you?"

"No. She found out through the rumor mill. But what do I do?" Remus said.

"One of two things. 1, ask her out. And 2, wait and see if because it's a rumor, she may not believe it." James advised.

"I don't know. We have to report on the plant today, so I will definitely see her again. I'll think about it." Remus replied.

The Marauders went down to dinner, and took their regular seats around the middle of the table. The girls sat not far away, but closer to the front. Then Dumbledore stood, signaling silence.

"Before we begin eating, I have an announcement to make. Due to the abnormally large number of students going home for the holidays, the Christmas Ball will be held earlier than usual. It will be in two weeks, on the second last day of term. Age limit will be…4th year and up. Of course there will be activities for the younger students as well. The Head Boy and Girl as well as all the Prefects must be present. Thank you, you may eat."

As food appeared, the whispers started. Remus just thought. What if he asked Len to the ball? What would she say?

Just as he was thinking this however, Len was mentally deciding what she would say if Remus did ask her.

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Lily looked curiously at Len. She was very quiet, more than usual for meal times. Then, she realized that she was probably thinking about the ball. Then, Len excused herself, saying that she needed to mail a letter. Lily watched as Remus watched her leave. He did like her. Maybe, she liked him too.

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Len headed up to the owlery. It was one of her favourite places, because, as you can well imagine, she has a special sort of relationship with owls. She called down an owl and handed it the letter to her mother. It clamped it in its beak, and flew out the window. Len stayed in the room for a while, but when she opened the door to leave, she came face-to-face with Remus Lupin.

"Oh…hi Remus."

"Um…hi Len. What are you doing here?" Remus asked. It was plain that he was very nervous.

"Just mailing a letter to my mom. She likes updates, you know. Even if she doesn't understand them. What about you?" Len replied.

"Just mailing a letter." He replied.

"Oh. Well, bye." Len said as she turned to leave.

Once she was just down the hall, he realized that he had just missed a perfect chance to ask her to the Ball when her friends weren't around. He turned to see her just about to turn the corner. He quickly called after her, "Oi! Len!"

She turned around, "What?"

"Er…Do you…want…togototheballwithme?

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. What did you say?" Len said as she jogged over.

"Er… do you want to go to the ball with me?" Remus asked, while scratching the back of his neck.

To his big surprise, she said, "I thought you'd never ask." With a smile.

Remus was startled. "Re-really?" he stuttered.

If possible, she smiled even bigger. "Yep. Did you really think I'd say no?"

"Well, great then. I'll pick you up at say…seven forty five?" Remus asked, still wondering if he heard right.

"Okey-dokey. See you around." And with a wave, she left.

Hope you like the chapie!Next one in a few minutes. Don't forget to R&R! Please!


	5. The Ball and The Kiss

Okay new chapie! R&E! (read and enjoy)

_**Ch.5, The Ball and the Kiss.**_

Len skipped up to the Griffindor common room. She had a date, with Remus Lupin! As she went up to the dorms, she found Lily and Melissa playing Exploding Snap. Lily had obviously got exploded on a few times.

"Guys, you need to put that down and come here. I got something really important to tell you!" Len said excitedly.

"Can't it wait? I am about to beat Lily again…"

"Fine I'll tell you but you'll be exploded from surprise…"

Lily put the cards down and came over. "I've had enough of that game anyways." She said as she charmed her hair not to be full of ash.

"Okay, what is it?" Melissa said as she came over.

"I don't like the way you said that Mel. I don't think I will tell you now…" Len played.

"Come on, please?" Lily made the infamous puppy-dog face. Len laughed.

"Alright, alright. Anyway, guess what? I have a date for the ball!"

"What!" both girls shouted.

"I have a date for the ball!"

They both hugged her. Then, Melissa asked, "so, who's the lucky guy?"

"You're probably not going to believe me, but its Remus Lupin!"

"What?"

"Seriously, its Remus! He asked me on my way out from the owlery. I am so happy!"

"And were happy for you! This calls for a celebration. Who's up for a GN?" Lily asked.

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Remus stared at the spot that Len had occupied a few moments ago. She had said yes. He ran that phrase through his mind a few times, and finaly believed it. He jogged back to the Griffindor common room, completely forgetting about his letter.

As he reached the common room, he saw Sirius and James playing chess. Sirius practically murdered James at it.

"Guys, you're not going to believe this." He said quietly.

"Not believe what Moony?" James asked distractedly.

"I have a date for the ball." Remus replied.

Sirius nearly dropped a squirming pawn. "So you finally got over Len?" he asked.

"Nope."

"But then how…" Sirius began to ask but Remus cut him off.

"I am going to the ball with her." He said happily as he sat down.

Now Sirius did drop the pawn, which scurried back to James's side to be welcomed by the remaining pawns. However, James was not paying attention, as he was staring at Remus.

"What? You asked her? When?"

"Just as she was leaving the owlery. I am supposed to pick her up at 7:45."

Sirius clapped Remus on the back. "This calls for a celebration. Lets get a bunch of food from the kitchens and then we can eat it outside while teasing the Giant Squid."

Remus shook his head in defeat. All of Sirius's celebrations always had something to do with food. He joined his friends (minus Peter. I have decided to take him out of the general story, but he might be mentioned from time to time. All because I don't like him.) in going to the kitchens. There, they got a whole ton of sweets, and levitated it outside. They teased the Giant Squid with crumbs. Soon, they realized that it was getting late, so they headed up to the castle, with Sirius sugar high. They deposited him in the dorm, and went down to the common room. James pulled Remus to the side, as Lily, Len and Melissa came down the girls stairs. They were laughing about something. Then, to James's surprise, they headed out the portrait hole.

"Probably another GN." Remus whispered.

"Let's follow them!" James said excitedly.

"I don't know…"

"They can't be doing rounds. I checked the roster and they have them tomorrow." James hissed.

"Oh alright, but we keep our distance, OK?" Remus asked.

"Sure thing."

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Melissa had the strangest idea that they were being followed. She expressed her concerns to her friends and they quickened their pace to North Tower.

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James and Remus thought that they had followed close behind the girls. But when they came to a large landing, there was no sign of them. After the Marauder's map showed that they were no longer in North Tower, they decided that they must have tricked them somehow and they left. They didn't notice the three birds playing outside.

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The next morning, when the girls came down, Remus got up to greet them. He noticed dark circles around their eyes, as if they had stayed up most of the night. He dismissed the idea and replaced it with a GN. They walked down to breakfast together, and the post arrived. The girls had just finished eating, when a large package was dropped onto Len's plate. She smiled, took it and left with the girls. But Remus shouted after her "What's that Len?"

She turned around and smiled. "This is my dress for the ball."

Remus smiled too. He had forgotten that it was appropriate for Muggle formal wear aswel. He then realized that he didn't really know what she looked like. The school robes weren't exactly the most showing of clothes.

On his way to his next class, James and Sirius strangely quiet, he got more and more excited about the ball.

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Later on in Herbology, Len's and Remus's plant was doing very well. Len was just copying down what the different colours meant, when Remus turned to her.

"Hey Len?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for going to the ball with me."

She smiled. "I like you Remus. I was really hoping that you'd ask me."

But then their small talk was cut short, as Professor Green came over to see how they were doing. Of course, Remus was already mentally jumping for joy.

Of course, by dinner, everyone in Hogwarts knew who had asked who. Then, after they were done, everyone headed to their dorms for a good night's sleep.

The last days before the ball flew by very quickly. Girls went frantic, boys wondered why bother, and Remus was sad to learn that Len planned on going home for Christmas. But he cheered up at the prospect of the ball tomorrow. There were even dance lessons in the Great Hall the day before. Remus laughed to see the girls there, and Len justified that she couldn't dance to save her life. Of course they had giggled at him to learn why he was here.

But that was yesterday, and today was the ball. Classes had been canceled due to teachers giving up trying to get their attention. The boys were just coming down into the common room in their dress robes when several laughs were heard. It would seem that someone had enchanted a sprig of mistletoe to follow around potential couples. But then the seventh year girls came down and captured everyone's attention.

Lily came down wearing a form-fitting green sleeveless dress, but it matched her eyes and complimented her hair perfectly. She had on light make-up, and wore white elbow-length gloves. She had pinned he Head Girl badge to her front. She had matching earrings.

Melissa wore a spagetii strap dress that was a deep blue. It reached her ankles, and was rather low-cut. She had blue wrist-length gloves on. She also had 3 inch high heels, that it was very unlikely that she would be able to dance in. She also had earrings. She had put her hair up with several dark blue barrettes.

But the third girl drew many people's eyes. Mainly because she had let her very long brown hair out of its braid, and used her bangs to frame her face.. She wore a bright yellow dress, that had puffy sleeves. It was a little low-cut, but not as much as Melissa's. It flowed down to her ankles, and she wore white 1 inch heels. She had wrist-length yellow gloves, and her Prefects badge was on her front. The dress was form-fitting, and the bodice was covered in lace. The silky dress part didn't have any lace, it was very simple.

Remus stared. She was beautiful. Her dress hugged every curve, as did Lily's and Melissa's. He walked up to her, and offered his arm. With a happy "Shall we?"

Len giggled and put her arm in his. "Yes, we shall."

But they didn't get a chance to move, because everyone in the room 'ooohed' and pointed to above their heads. The mistletoe was on top of them.

Remus froze. Len looked up. When she saw that he was frozen, she frowned and rose on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. The crowd 'booed' but she could care less. Lily and Melissa stared at her. They had never seen her take the initiative when it came to men. But Lily's attention was turned away from her as someone came up to her side.

"Er… Lily… I know we aren't the best of friends, but if you don't have a date, would you go with me to the ball?"

Lily thought for a moment. Then, to everyone's great surprise, she said "Sure, James."

"Really?" he asked hopefully.

"Yep. Lets go."

Melissa stared at her friends. They were changing before her eyes! Len has a date before they do, and Lily is going to a dance with James! What was next? Would she go with Sirius Black? No way. He had a date. So she was alone, after they left, and she went to the ball alone.

The Hall was magnificent. Red and Green streamers decorated the walls, and large Christmas trees were in every corner. Everyone sat down at a table, with James and Lily up with the Heads. Then, after the food, Dumbldore rose to make a speech.

"Would the Head Boy and Girl please join the Prefects in the first dance of the night."

As the music started up, Remus offered his hand to Len. She took it and the two began dancing.

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Everyone was heading back to the common room after the dance. All had a wonderful time. Remus and Len were the first to retire to the Griffindor common room, at about 11:00 at night. He was just about to say goodnight, when she took a sharp intake of breath.

"What is it?" he asked as he looked up. Then he saw what it was. It was the mistletoe from before. It even looked as if it was chuckling. He remembered the disappointed look that she had when he didn't take the initiative before, so he turned to look at her. She looked at him. Their eyes locked, and Remus bent down, and let his lips fall onto hers. It was a light kiss, but both had never felt so good.

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Len felt her knees weaken as he kissed her. But she held strong. When they separated, they kept staring in each other's eyes. Remus was bending down to kiss her again, but stopped when the protrait hole opened to reveal most of the Griffindor house. Then a very happy James came from the crowd and said "I hope were not interrupting?"

Both people blushed. The crowd roared with laughter, and it was quite obvious that some men had had to much to drink. Lily and Melissa came from the crowd and pulled Len upstairs. She was pulled away with a quick "bye Remus" and he looked very disappointed.

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"Well?" Lily demanded as they tossed Len onto a chair. Melissa even shone a lamp over her as if she were some sort of criminal being interrogated.

"Well what?" Len replied, knowing full what they meant.

"Well, what were you two doing when everybody came in?" Lily repeated.

Len blushed a brilliant shade of pink. "Nothing." She said a little too quickly.

"Yeah, and I'm the minister of magic. You two were staring so intensely at each other, I would have sworn that he either kissed you or was about to." Melissa added sarcastically.

When Len didn't answer, and turned pinker, both girls shrieked.


	6. Girlfriends and Going Home for Christmas

Don't worry, as you can see Lily is starting to warm up to James. R,E&R (Read, Enjoy and Review)

**_Girlfriends and Going Home for Christmas_**

All the people in the common room heard a loud shriek from the girls dorms. However, since the only people left there were the Marauders, only they heard it.

"What was that?" James asked.

"ER…that was most likely Lily and Melissa. Len probably just confessed to them." Remus said, blushing.

Sirius eyed Remus. "And just _what_ would she have to confess for? You didn't _kiss_ her did you Moony?"

When Remus didn't answer, their eyes widened.

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"He _kissed_ you? I can't believe he did that!" Lily yelled.

Melissa smiled. "So, is he a good kisser?" she asked the furiously blushing girl.

"Well, you see, it was sort of my first kiss." Len said shyly.

Both girls stared "What? You've never been kissed before?" Melissa shouted.

"Well, you know that my family would never let anybody near me…"

"And just how is Remus going to be any different?" Lily asked.

"Because I really like him. I think I can convince them to give him a chance." Len said.

"Well, good luck with that. Now, go to bed, and no dreams about a certain Marauder!" Lily scolded.

Len blushed, but climbed into bed, not promising anything. After they were sure that she was asleep, they headed down to where the Marauders were still sitting.

"We'd like to speak with Remus for a moment." Lily said politely, while Melissa dragged Remus off.

"Whats the matter?" he asked, hoping something wasn't wrong with Len.

"We just wanted to warn you, we are her friends, and if you do anything to make her miserable, you wont want to see us for a very long time." Melissa warned strongly. There was no doubt about who 'her' was.

"Don't worry, I have no intent of it." Remus said.

Lily smiled. "Well then you might want to know a little bit of info she shared with us."

"No. If she told it to you guys, then she probably wanted it to be kept secret. I wont violate her privacy." Remus said strongly.

Both girls smiled. "Good. See you tomorrow Remus. Goodnight." And they went over to the girls dorms.

Remus contemplated what had just happened, and realized that he had just passed their test. Then he went over to see James and Sirius and explained what happened, afterwards they went back to planning the prank of the year.

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That morning when Lily woke up, it was no surprise to see Len gone from the other bed in the dormitory. She always walked around the castle on the last day before she went home for the holidays. Which she always did. She got dressed and went to the common room. James had asked her to meet him there, and she had agreed. He was there when she got there, and he told her that he was sorry in advance, and that she might want to be at breakfast. Then he left her very confused.

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As Lily went to breakfast, she found a seat with Melissa and Len. Len was having a bowl of oatmeal and Melissa was having a piece of toast. Lily sat down in the seat they had saved for her, and saw Remus heading their way. However, before he could get far, the other Marauders pulled him over. But they weren't very far away. If you looked a little, you could see them clearly.

Lily kept looking over at the Slytherin table, expecting something to happen. Finally, it did. The Slytherins all stood up, and started singing a perfect verse of "Santa Clause is Coming to Town" and after that, "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer". Even Lily had trouble keeping the laughter in.

Remus looked down the table to see Len laughing hysterically. That made him extremely happy. Even Lily was trying to hold in laughter. Melissa was laughing her head off. The Slytherins had all evacuated the Hall a long time ago, but people were still able to hear the stragglers, since the dungeons echoed.

Len was walking around the lake, not caring about the snow falling on her hatless hair. She was so lost in her thoughts, that she didn't hear someone coming up behind her.

"Hey Len!"

She turned around and saw Remus jogging through the snow. It was quite a funny sight, and she was in silent giggles by the time he reached her. It was funny since the snow was knee-deep.

"Listen, Len, I didn't get a chance to talk to you last night." He said, catching his breath. She nodded. He continued, "And I was just wondering if you'd consider being…my girlfriend?"

She saw the look of hope in his eyes. She smiled, and said, as she flung her arms around him, "Of course I will. I would be glad to."

Remus smiled and got caught up in her eyes again. They still had their arms around each other, and he bent his head to hers. In Len's opinion, this kiss was better than the other one. It wasn't light and fluffy, but it was wonderful. His hands moved to her waist. Her hands moved to his neck. They stayed like this, until someone cleared their throat beside them. They both jumped apart, blushing like mad, and found Lily, James, Melissa and Sirius all laughing at them. The couple reluctantly let go of each other, and faced their friends. Len smiled sheepishly and Remus scratched his neck.

"Well, we just came to tell Len that the train will be leaving in two hours and to make sure that she has everything that she needs. But we'll try not to er…_ disturb _you again." Lily said through fits of laughter.

"Very funny. (she turned to Remus) I'd better be going. In case I don't get to see you 'till the end of the holidays, I am going to say goodbye now." Len said, and glared at the others to leave. They left, and Len quickly put her lips to his and they started where they left off.

Fifteen minutes later, she was double checking that she had everything, when Melissa came in.

"So, Len, are the rumors true? Did Remus ask you to be his girlfriend?" Melissa asked teasingly.

But Len answered with a strong and excited response, "Yes he did, and I accepted. He is now my boyfriend. And I'm his girlfriend."

"YES! Haha! Lily owes me five sickles!" Melissa shouted.

Just then, an announcement came out over the school, "Would all students planning to go home, please get to the carriages immediately."

Len said goodbye to Melissa, and levitated her trunk downstairs. She said bye to the people that she knew, but was disappointed not to see Remus there. She was heading out and saw him waiting by the carriages.

To her and her friends, the carriages had not been horseless for long. Len had seen her dog die when she was 13, Melissa saw a squirrel dye at night when they were on a GN, and Lily had never told them who had died, and they didn't push the matter.

"I'm going to miss you." He said, as he pulled her into a hug.

"I think I'll miss you more. At least you have your friends here to comfort you." Len said, smiling that he said something so sweet.

"I doubt that. (he kissed her quickly on the cheek) Write me when you get there, okay?" As she climbed in to the carriage.

"Will do. See you when I see you!"

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Remus sighed. She had only been gone for a day, and already he was depressed. The others tried to cheer him up, but no one could replace her. Little did he know, that he was now being described to her family for the umpteenth time.

James and Sirius planned prank after prank to try and cheer him up. But he just wasn't in the mood without her to laugh at them.

The day after she went, he looked up excitedly as her owl landed infront of him at breakfast. (no, its not her herself!) She had a very large box that looked to heavy for her, and a letter. He took the letter and read it:

_Dear Remus,_

_I really miss you. From the way I described you to my family, they really like you. In the box is everyone's Christmas presents. No looking before Christmas!_

_Not much has happened, other than the 'occasion' of my entire family learning that I'm a witch. My mother's side is huge, because she had two brothers. Anyway, enough about that. Their all coming up in a few days, and I have a feeling that they'll all ask me to do little tricks like levitating stuff. I cant wait (note the sarcasm). Write me back, things are so… boring here, despite my family._

_Sincerely, Len_

_P.S. tell the others not to peek at their presents please._

Remus smiled. He took the owls other burden from him and told her to rest, he had a reply but it won't be ready for a while.

The others noticed that he had cheered up, and asked him about it. He told them about Len's letter, and the presents. Sirius perked up at the word 'presents'. Remus decided to tell her what was going on in his letter.

_Dear Len, _

_I miss you a lot. But you're last letter cheered me up. It was quite funny. I was telling the others about the presents, and Sirius perked up at the very word. I had to seal the box with a charm that Lily helped me with, because he tried to peek every hour._

_I didn't realize you're family was so big. Good luck with you're relatives._

_With this letter are the Christmas presents from all of us. No peeking! I hope you like the one from me… anyway, I thought I should let you know what has happened here in the short time you've been gone. Well the answer to that is that Lily actually agreed to go to Hogsmead with James! You can imagine everybody's surprise! Plus, something may be going on between Melissa and Sirius. They haven't argued since November!_

_Sincerely, Remus._

_P.S. Lily just asked me to include a letter from her and Melissa._

_P.S.S. Beware Sirius's gift. I heard him talking about it just now._

And with that, he walked over to the owlery.


	7. Letters, Letters, Letters

Thank you for the reviews! R,E&R!

**_Ch.7,Letters, letters, letters._**

A certain girl was doing tricks for her family, just simple stuff, like levitating things and cooking dinner with magic. She glanced at the window every so often, and her relatives noticed. They asked her about it, and that was when there was a sharp peck at said window. As she opened it up, they 'oohed' as an owl came in. Len took the letter and the box it held in its beak, and raced up to her bedroom. She told the owl to meet her there. When she got up, she locked the door with magic, and sat down on her bed. She opened the first letter from Remus, and smiled as she read it. Then she took out the letter from Lily and Melissa and read it too:

_Dear Len,_

_You should keep writing to Remus. He's been really depressed ever since you went home. He cheered right up at you're letter. We're pretty sure Remus already warned you, but be careful of Sirius's present, he heard that you lived with muggles, and wants to play a prank on them, assuming that they'll be around when you open it. Remember, no peeking!_

_From, Lily._

_P.S. the next part is from Melissa._

_There aren't many people left at Hogwarts now. So we've been having to spend time with the Marauders. Ugh. I have actually been spending more time doing homework. By the way, do you know the right spell to get rid of a mummy? I keep forgetting, and no one will help me at Lily's insistence. I know you wont tell me the answer, but could you just tell me which chapter to look in the DADA book? Please?_

_From, Melissa._

_P.S. do you know if Lily knows a repelling charm? She keeps giggling every time I ask her for one for Black. He just happens to be in every room that I'm in._

Len laughed at the letter. Typical Melissa. She got out her quill and some parchment and wrote her response. She gave it to the owl, and took her Exploding Snap set downstairs with her. This might make her family stop demanding things.

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One day later, Remus was wondering when she would reply. Just as he was thinking this however, her owl dumped two letters on his lap. The first one was addressed to him and the second to Lily and Melissa. He gave the letter to Lily and opened his letter.

_Dear Remus,_

_Don't worry, I'll write you every time something happens. My aunt didn't see the point of _carrying _their luggage in, they wanted me to levitate it. However, I explained to them, that if I did any magic when other people could see, I could be kicked out of Hogwarts. So I made them lug in their own luggage, and then I levitated it to their room. Then, instead of using a stove, they insisted that I conjure up a fire. I have decided to show them how to play Exploding Snap, while leaving out a few details… like the Exploding part. That should put them off magic for a while. Any ideas for pranks? Its tradition for me to prank my uncles._

_I miss you a lot, and the letter from Lily and Melissa said to beware of Sirius's gift too. I'll be careful. I can't wait to see you again. I have to go now, my mom is asking me to put a silencing charm on my uncle._

_Sincerely, Len._

Lily looked at her letter with Melissa:

_Dear Lily,_

_Don't worry, I'll keep writing. And I'll be careful of Sirius's present. Is it true that you're going out with James? I need answers here! I plan on telling everyone to try to play poker with Exploding Snap cards… lets see what happens._

_The next part is for Melly._

_Dear Melissa,_

_So, Blacks following you eh? Well, just so you know, Lily does know a repelling charm, and she probably laughed because it's only for use on inanimate objects. And I wont tell you the exact spell, but I am in a good mood, so I will use my common sense, and tell you to look in the chapter about mummies. _

_See you both when I see you!_

_From, Len._

Both girls laughed at the letter for Lily. Poker with Exploding Snap with muggles. That would be interesting. Melissa scowled at her part of the letter, not only because Lily laughed her head off, and she didn't tell her the answer. And Sirius soon got hold of the letter. They could tell that Remus was writing his reply, but couldn't really think of anything interesting to say. Nothing was going on at Hogwarts. So, they just sat down and did some studying.

Remus was writing his reply. But he also included something that may interest her if she wanted to prank her relatives. It was a Marauder creation.

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Len made sure not to take part in the poker game. She also made sure that she was upstairs at the time. She was in a silent fit of giggles that soon turned into laughing. Her uncle came up, disgruntled, tossing the deck of cards onto her lap. Which promptly exploded. However, she simply took her wand and cleaned herself off. This anoyed her uncle even more. He then said that she was to come down and clean the card table.

As she walked into the living room, to her uncles displeasure, she took out her wand and said, "_Scourgify!_", which cleaned it up at once. Her family stared in disbelief.

"How come you never told me that spell before?" her mother asked.

"Because then I'd be casting magic day and night!" Len jokingly replied. Her house wasn't that dirty, but her mom hated cleaning. However, her cousin, was laughing, and Len liked this cousin, so she cleaned him off and offered him a Sherbert Ball. He looked timid at the thought of more magic, but when she popped one in her mouth, and floated a few inches off the floor, he jumped at the opportunity.

Soon they were both floating off the floor, and her other cousins asked for one. She gave them one each, but then left, as her relatives started to _all_ ask for one. She was in her magically sealed room, and there was a peck at her window. Just as she'd hoped, an owl flew in. She opened the message from Remus, and laughed at the note.

_Dear Len,_

_So, how's the pranking coming along? I still cant think of you pranking someone. I included a Marauder invention, in case you run out of ideas. There's instructions with it. I miss you a ton. I cant wait to hear about how the Exploding snap prank went._

_Anyway, more on the Lily and James situation. They are now going out almost daily. And Sirius has admitted a 'newt eye sized' crush on our dear friend, Melissa. Don't tell her though, okay? I'm not supposed to tell anyone as it is._

_I cant wait 'till Christmas. Sirius is acting like a five year old when it comes to gifts. I still haven't been able to get that Temporary Sticking charm off of the gift box because he's still trying to get a peek. Write back, okay? I'm a little lonely here without you._

_You're lonely boyfriend, Remus._

Len turned bright red at the last line. That was so sweet!

She took off the package and put it on the table. She got out her quill and wrote her response. She then took the parcel and looked inside. According to Remus's note and the instructions, her uncle would love it. But first she had another idea, and she had described it to Remus. They would be atlunch by now. She brought a sherbert Ball to bribe her cousin with. She also brought her wand.

As she got downstairs, she found her cousin, Mickey, and gave him the sherbert ball in return for distracting everybody. He went into the kitchen, and she heard laughs. She opened the door a crack, and saw both her uncles sitting down. Perfect. She took he wand and muttered a spell. By the time he lost their attention, she was walking in, her deed done.

They inquired about why she was so happy. She said that she had got a letter from her boyfriend, which was entirely true. She even let her uncles tease her, knowing she would have the last laugh.

They stayed sitting down for a few hours while eating lunch, and then everybody got up. Everyone broke into hysterical laughter when her uncles' chairs rose with them. Then she said very innocently, "Well, _someone_ must have _accidentally_ put a Temporary Sticking charm on you're chairs!"

Of course, this resulted in her uncles attempting to chase her around the house, which was hilarious, because they still had chairs on their behinds. Len herself was wiping tears of laughter out of her eyes.

She decided that the pranking equipment that Remus sent her should be used at dinner. They were having hamburgers so she would be safe if she used it on the whole batch. While her family was in the living room, trying to get the chairs off of her uncles still, she slipped into the kitchen. She held a small bottle in her hand, and it was filled with some green liquid. This would put them all off of magic for quite a while. She then went out to the living room where she was ordered to remove the spell from the chairs. She grudgingly did so, but right when they were pulling against the chairs so that they fell forward. Everybody was laughing again.

At dinner, Len made sure that she came in with everybody else, so she would not be blamed so easily. Not that it would help, she was the only witch in the house. Everyone ate their meals, and they didn't even notice that their mouths were changing. Only when they finished eating, and they smiled, it showed that their teeth had all changed colour. Her cousin's were all pink, her mother's and father's were green, and her uncles and aunts were blue. They all looked at her, however, Len had already run upstairs and sealed her door. There, in her safe room, she was laughing her head off.

The next day, Len was wondering when she would get a reply from Remus. Just as she was thinking this, and charming snowballs not to melt inside the house so she could jynx them after her uncle, there was a tap at her window. She took of the letter and read:

_Dear Len,_

_Don't worry, I didn't look at you're letter, but Remus is in the Hospital Wing. He's not feeling well and that new nurse Pomfrey wont let anybody in to see him. She did say that he should be better in a few days, so I will tell him that you sent him a letter. He'll probably write you when he gets out._

_From, James._

She frowned. He always got sick at least once a month, or else he had to go and visit a sick relative. She would ask him about it when she got back. She smiled as she heard her uncle yell, and knew her snowballs had hit their target.

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She was expecting a letter from Remus any day now, but since it was Christmas, she took her presents from her friends and went downstairs where her family always opened gifts. She had gotten her cousins some Sherbert Balls, and she was sure that they would be popular. She got from her friends, a wizard romance book from Lily and Melissa, a block of Honeydukes chocolate from James and a self-refilling bag of Sherbert Balls from Remus. But before she opened Sirius's gift, she remembered her friends' warning. She cautiously opened the wrapping paper, and took out a small box. She slowly took the lid off, and everyone within twenty feet was covered in stinksap. She cleaned them off and amid protests and complaints, she read the note in the bottom of the box.

_This is an auto-refill stink box. No matter how many times you open it, it will always cover you and everyone else in stinksap. Enjoy!_

Len scowled. She would make sure that _he_ opened it at some point. She closed the box and put it away, with the rest of her presents. Her relatives made sure that they stayed clear of it.

The next day, Len was starting to worry. Just as she was however, an owl pecked at her window. She let in quickly, and was relieved to see Remus' handwriting on the front.

_Dear Len,_

_Sorry I didn't write you in so long, but as I am sure James told you, I was in the Hospital Wing. I'm fine now, in fact I have been for a few days. But everyone insisted that I wait to send you a letter 'till they open their presents. They want to thank you._

_So how'd the prank come along? Just yesterday James, Sirius and I turned the remaining Slytherins' robes red and green for the occasion. Of course, it wasn't as fun as the prank at the end of term feast, but it still even got Lily laughing._

_I cant wait 'till you come back. Thanks for the moon clock, you know how I like astromony. The others wont leave me alone, so here is the question they are bugging me to ask: did you like their presents? Write back soon please, I miss you._

_You're finally out of the Hospital Wing boyfriend, Remus. _

Len smiled at the last part. She didn't waste any time in writing her reply:

_Dear Remus,_

_Yes, I did love everybody's presents. Thank Sirius for me, he gave everyone quite the… stench. The Exploding Snap prank went great. You're last letter gave me an idea, guess what I did? I put a Temporary sticking charm on both my uncle's chairs. It was particularly hard for them to chase me with chairs stuck to their behinds. I wish you could've been there, it was hilarious! I also used some of that special food dye you sent me. My cousin still cant get pink out of his mouth!_

_I miss you too, I cant wait 'till I come back!_

_You're just as lonely girlfriend, Len_


	8. Remus's Secret

**_Ch.8, Remus's Secret._**

Remus smiled at her reply. He learned something about her everyday. Temporary sticking charms on the chairs, why didn't they ever think of that? Remus looked across the common room, and saw Lily and James talking. All of a sudden, they both burst out laughing. It was getting near the end of the holidays, and everyone was looking forward to seeing their friends again. He wrote Len one last letter, asking her if they could use the chair prank. It was also the last one that would reach her before she was on the train again. He then went to the owlery, and tied his letter to an owl, told it where to go, and left the room. He bumped into Melissa on his way back to the portrait hole.

"Hi Melissa." He greeted.

"Oh hi Remus, how are you? Feeling better?" she responded.

"Yeah, much better. Did you hear? Len has been playing pranks on her family. She even put a Temporary sticking charm on their chairs." Remus said with a laugh.

"Yeah, she mentioned it in her last letter. Well, see you around." Melissa said with a chuckle. Then, she stalked off to the library.

Remus thought for a moment. He had seen Sirius go that way not 10 minutes ago. He would ask James about it on the Marauder's map later. He now had a Potions essay to tackle.

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A few days later, James, Lily, Sirius, Remus and Melissa were out to welcome back the sixth member of their little group. As Len left her carriage, she ran straight to Remus and gave him a big hug. She then mentioned how much she had missed him.

"Hey, what are we, acquaintances?" Lily said, with mock anger. Lily, Melissa and Len all shared a group hug. Then, she approached Sirius and took something out of her pocket. When everyone saw what it was, they backed off, but Sirius knew that if he moved, he was hit. Then, Len smiled, and opened the lid, holding it towards the _offender_. The spectators all burst into peals of laughter, at the stinksap covered Sirius. He cleaned himself off with his wand, but still stank.

"Remus, control you're girlfriend!" he ordered. But said person was in no condition to help, as he was laughing hysterically.

Remus held hands with Len as they made their way up to the castle. Her head was leaning on his shoulder, and he couldn't be happier. They all found seats in the great hall, and sat down. It was a wonderful meal, and Remus and Len would go down to the kitchens afterward. It was going great, but Lily and Melissa couldn't help but noticing they kept on going into fits of muffled laughter when they looked at the Slytherins. But nothing happened, so Lily and Melissa just assumed that they were planning something. After Dumbledore dismissed them, the great hall exploded as the Slytherins' chairs rose with them. Professor McGonnagle was bending over with laughter. Len had tears in her eyes. They were dismissed again, and people crawled out of the great hall. People congratulated James, Sirius and Remus on their way out. They didn't mention, at her request, that it had been all Len's and Remus' idea.

The two aforementioned people were on their way to the kitchens, and Remus was very happy that Len was back. When they got their, Len ordered her usual Remus asked for a hot chocolate. They ate and they left, and were walking through the dark halls when they both felt they were being followed. They caught each other's eyes, and Remus was surprised to see fear in Len's. They both got out their wands, and heard footsteps. Then, from behind, Len was shot with a stunning spell. She fell forward with a scream that made Remus's blood run cold. He turned around and at that very second got into a duel with Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. (fathers) He knew he wouldn't last long. Then, more footsteps were heard, and 4 stunners were shot at the Slytherins from somewhere in the hall. They fell to the floor, and out from the shadows came James, Sirius Lily and Melissa.

"What happened?" James asked as Lily and Melissa ran to revive their fallen friend.

"We were on our way back from the kitchens, and Malfoy came up behind us. Neither of us saw him. He hit Len from behind and I would have been the same as she is if you guys hadn't got here when you did." Remus explained as a very groggy Len listened. She got to her feet with help from Lily and Melissa.

"Now I don't want a fuss from you, you're going to the Hospital Wing." Lily ordered.

"I'm fine, it was just a stunner, I don't need to go." She said.

This argument continued for some time until it was decided that she would not go, but it would be reported. As Remus helped her up the stairs, he said, "I had no idea you could be so stubborn." He said.

" I'm very proud of my stubbornness." She responded with a smile, and holding her head up high. Remus laughed. They entered the common room to find that Melissa and Sirius had already gone to bed, and Lily and James had fallen asleep on the couch, heads resting on each other's shoulders.

"They really like each other." Len commented.

"Yeah. I think that they have a nice long relationship ahead of them." Remus said nodding at the couple on the sofa.

"Think we should wake them up?" Len asked, turning to Remus.

He thought for a moment. "Nah. Lets see how Lily reacts to find herself beside _James_ when she wakes up."

They both laughed, and Remus kissed her goodnight. The sweet, _little_ goodnight kiss lasted about 5 minutes, when the clock over the fireplace chimed midnight.

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The rest of the group that had been informed of the Lily & James situation headed downstairs to see Lily's reaction. They couldn't help but burst into laughter when they both ended up blushing like a rose. The couple scowled at their friends, but since they were still blushing, that only made them laugh even more. But then it was Sirius's turn to blush, when a first year walked by and plugged her nose. That put them all into fits of laughter all over again. Finally, Len got to see Remus alone, and asked him, "I've noticed Remus, that you always get sick once a month, or you go visit a sick relative. Is anything wrong?"

Remus took a while to respond. Which only told her that there _was_ something wrong. He could either tell her, and risk losing her to the prejudices of his kind, or he could tell her nothing was wrong. Of course, he knew Len very well, and since he had taken so long to answer, if he said it was nothing she would know it was a lie. He bit his lip and said, "I really want to tell you, but not here. Meet me in the North tower later on, around 9. Please?"

Len nodded. Then they went their friends. Remus took James and Sirius aside, and said, "Guys, I'm going to tell her about my condition."

They both stared. "What?"

"She's getting suspicious. If I don't tell her now, then she would know I was lying." Remus said sadly.

"You don't really believe she's prejudice do you? She's muggle born, she didn't even know what a werewolf was before she was eleven." James said.

"I know, I know, I'm just nervous. I've never told anyone before, you two figured it out on your own. I just hope that she doesn't hate me after." Remus said. Little did he know that Len was getting permission from her friends to tell him about _her_ secret.

Everyone went to dinner, and then somewhere else. All the time Remus wasn't himself, he was worried and not concentrating. Len realized that whatever his secret was, it was big. She had not mentioned to her friends why she wanted to tell Remus her secret, but she thought it might comfort him if he wasn't the only one. She went to the North tower at 8:50. She was surprised to see him already there. He was pacing, and when he heard her footsteps, he stopped. He looked very pale in Len's opinion. She walked over and sat on the nearby windowsill.

"Remus, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She said softly.

"No, you deserve to know. Listen, I want to get this over with as soon as possible okay? (she nods) Well, I- I'm a werewolf." He finished, then took a deep interest in his hands.

She took a deep intake of breath, and then, just as Remus was expecting her to run away screaming, she said, "Why were you so nervous about telling me?"

He looked up. She looked perfectly calm, a little surprised, but calm. He responded "Well, I thought you might be prejudice. I wasn't sure."

"Oh Remus, I don't care if you change once a month! (she gets up and gives him a hug) I'm muggle born, I didn't even know that magic existed before I got my letter! I wasn't brought up to think the way that normal witches do!"

They were still in each other's embrace. Then Remus bent down and kissed her, and they were at it again. After a few minutes, Len pulled away and said, "but you still don't know _my_ secret."

At Remus's puzzled look, she laughed lightly and said, "Remember that argument from the third year between Sirius and Melissa? The one about Melissa and us being predictable?"

Remus nodded, wondering where this was going.

"Well, afterward Melissa was fuming. She sort of convinced us to do something un-predictable." She said with a sheepish smile.

"And just what did you do?" Remus asked, wondering what on earth she did.

"I think it would be easier to _show_ you rather than tell you."

Remus watched as she backed up a few paces, and turned into an owl. He watched open-mouthed as she turned human again. He finally found his voice and said "Y-you're an animagus?"

"Yep. So are Lily and Melissa. Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay! In fact, that's wonderful! I actually cant believe you did something like that!" Remus said joyfully.

Len smiled. "I saw you once you know. When Lily and I dumped that cat in the lake. If only you could've seen the look on you're face! It was priceless!"

"Really? I remember when… was it Lily and Melissa? When they used James and Sirius as a bathroom!" Remus said excitedly.

"Oh yeah, what was their reaction to that?"

"I think you can imagine. They swore me to secrecy you see." Remus said. Len laughed. All this time, they were heading back to the Griffindor common room. At the girls' staircase, Remus turned to her.

"Please, don't tell anyone about my… condition? If it gets out, I can say goodbye to Hogwarts." Remus said sadly. She smiled and kissed him.

"Of course I wont silly. You cant tell anyone either? You see, we're not exactly registered." Len asked.

"Of course I wont. Goodnight. See you in the morning." And with that he kissed her goodnight, and watched as she went up the stairs. Then he turned and went up his own, very happy.


	9. Questions and Quiditch

_**Ch.9,Questions and Quiditch **_

Lily and Melissa had waited up for their friend. When she did (finally) come back, she was bombarded with questions.

"Did you tell him?"

"Why did he want to meet you?"

"Why are you so late in getting back?"

Len was a bit blown back at these questions. "Yes, I told him, I wont tell you why he wanted to meet me, and you don't need to know why we're late." She answered in all one go.

"Well, I think that pretty much covers it. Wait, he wont tell anyone will he?" Melissa said.

"No, he wont. I swore him to secrecy. He still remembered when we dumped the caretaker's cat in the lake. He said it was hilarious. Listen, I'm really tired, can I go to bed?" Len pleaded. They let her, and she climbed gratefully into bed.

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Meanwhile, Remus was being similarly questioned.

"Did she dump you?"

"Was she prejudice?"

"Why are you smiling?"

Remus sighed. "No, she didn't dump me, no, she isnt prejudice, and I am smiling for the above reasons."

"As usual, I'm right. Still, that's good. Take a nap, you look like you need one." James said.

"Yeah, we got a quiditch game tomorrow! Rest up buddy!" Sirius said loudly, earning a glare from the attempting-to-sleep roommate.

Remus glanced at James, who made the sign that he had consumed sugar.

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The next day at the quiditch game, the group (minus James and Sirius) walked down to the pitch. The resident couple was hand-in-hand, and sat together in the stands. This was the last day before classes started again so the teachers had decided it would be nice to have a game. Even though it was freezing, the students were excited. This game was between Griffindor and Slytherin.

"And this is you're commentator speaking, even though you all know that. Well, this match is Griffindor the amazing, versus, Slytherin the not-so-amazing."

"Jordan!"

"Sorry Professor, I really am. Anyway, the Griffindor team walks out to the pitch, including the very attractive-"

"Jordan, if you wish to complement Miss. Hooch, I suggest you do it on your own time."

"Will do Professor, even though I can see her face blushing from here."

The commentator always made people laugh, and always made the chaser, Marie Hooch, blush. Meanwhile, James and Malfoy were attempting very hardly, by the look on their faces, to break each other's fingers. This would be a useful feat, since they were both seekers. James still hadn't forgiven Malfoy for attacking Remus and Len that night. And by the look on Sirius's face, neither had he.

"And they're off! It's Hooch with the quaffle, passes to Boon, passes to Spinet, back to Hooch, who…drops it, and its picked up by Greenwood, who passes to Snape, who…scores, the slimeball. It's now 10-nil for Slytherin. The qualffle is passed from Keeper Kink, to Spinet, and he's off with said quaffle, and he's speeding up the pitch. And OUCH! He's hit with a bludger from Ape number one-"

"Jordan, do not insult the players."

"Right you are professor. So he's hit with a bludger by Crabbe, and Snape picks up the quaffle. Oooohhh, nice bludger work by Black, that might put Snape in the Hospital Wing… nope, he is unfortunately back in the game. Anyway, good work Black!"

Lily, Melissa, Remus and Len were cheering for Sirius who did a sort of victory lap. He waved at them as he passed. Lily stared in awe as Melissa waved back. But then she quickly put the hand down, looking at the others to see if they'd seen anything.

James was circling the pitch, but there was no sign of the Snitch. He saw it, and made one of his famous dives for it. It was just about when he saw Sirius doing his victory lap. But the Slytherin beaters took advantage of that, and when they saw James diving, they took the nearest bludger and sent it for him. He was to wound up in the dive he was in, and therefor didn't see it. Lily did however, pointed and shouted. If James wasn't on the other side of the pitch, he might have heard her, and not gotten hit. But he was, so he didn't, so he did. He was just about a meter from the small gold ball, when it came and bent his arm back the other way. The way it's not supposed to go. He was so surprised that he dropped off of his broom. Luckily he was only about 30 feet from the ground. The whistle sounded, and Lily wasted no time in running down to him. The others couldn't keep up with her and soon fell behind.

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There was a large crowd in the Hospital Wing that day, as the Griffindor quiditch team, Lily, Remus, Melissa and Len were gathered around a bed which contained James. A very annoyed Nurse Pomfrey was bustling around, upset at the number of people there. She had already fixed his arm, but the fall was another matter. All the people leaned in as he started coming to. The moment he started to talk, Lily flung her arms around him. He hugged her back, and with a bewildered look on his face, asked what happened and why was he here.

" Don't you remember? You fell off after you were hit with that bludger." Lily explained as she released him.

"No, I don't remember a thing. The last thing is diving for the Snitch. (he sits bolt upright) Wait, what happened to the game? Did someone get my broom?"

"Don't worry mate, I have it and it's safely in the dorm. And Slytherin won, we didn't think refusing to play because a member was hurt would be considered surrender." Sirius said.

"What? They won?" James stuttered.

"Don't worry Captain, we figured it out and we can still win the cup. Ravenclaw has to beat Hufflepuff, and that shouldn't be to hard, they are terrible this year. Then we have to beat Hufflepuff by seventy points, and Ravenclaw has to beat Slytherin. Then if we beat Slytherin by 10 points in the finals, we win." The keeper, Alfred Kink said.

"That's it! All of you out now! This boy just had a 30 foot fall, he needs to rest! Not worry about quiditch!"

"Were his best friends!"

"I'm his girlfriend!"

"I don't care who you are, OUT!"

As they grudgingly obeyed, Lily giving James a quick kiss, Remus said quietly to Len, "Now you know what it's like whenever I'm sick."

The other people looked strangely at them as they all of a sudden burst into a fit of giggles. Then Len said, "I have to get to the library, I didn't study hardly at all during the Christmas holidays. See you later." She said as she disappeared.

"Well we have to go change before the caretaker catches us tracking dirt throughout the school." Said the team.

"I think I'll join Len in the library. By Melissa." Remus said.

Melissa was left all alone now. She decided to go and check if all her homework was done.

Len was in the library, attempting to study, when a pair of hands closed over her eyes. "Guess who?" she heard in a familiar voice.

"Hmmm. Snape?" she relied in a playful voice.

"I'm hurt that you would think that of me." Remus said as he removed his hands in a mock hurt voice.

"Where are the others?" Len asked as she turned to face them.

"I don't know. Anyway, what are you doing?"

"Trying to study. I need to go get a book, could you help me find it?"

Remus smiled as he recognized her tone of voice. "Would I ever refuse to help such a beauty?" as they walked down the isles lined with books.

"I should hope not." Len said as she pressed her lips to his. They ended up having a very nice time. They stopped at the sound of footsteps. They quickly made as if they were looking for a book, but Remus's ruffled hair and Len's ruffled clothes didn't help as the librarian came down the isle. She saw what they had been doing, and shoed them from the room, saying that that is not what the library is supposed to be used for. But she said that very loudly, so they left embarrassed and feeling lucky that not many people were in said room today.

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While Remus and Len were in the library, highly doubtful in Melissa's opinion that they were actually studying, Melissa was sitting by the Griffindor fire, wondering when she had got left behind. She was usually the one who had a boyfriend all year long. They hadn't spent much time together, just the three of them, since Remus and Len started going out. Just as she was thinking that however, Sirius came through the Portrait hole. Melissa had started to like him a bit, since there was no one left from the respective groups, they had spent more time together. She learned that he wasn't all flirt and style. She never did admit it to anyone, not even Lily and Len, but she did have the smallest of crushes on him. But she was scared to act, because he was known as the player of the school and she didn't want to be dumped.

Sirius came over to her and sat down. They started talking, and then the portrait hole opened and in came a very stunned Remus and Len. They were acting civil to each other? Len came over, and just to emphasize that this wasn't normal, she put her hand to Melissa's forehead as if to check for fever. She then scowled, excused herself and a protesting Melissa and dragged her up to the dorms.

"Alright, did he bewitch you or something?" Len shouted.

"What?"

"You two were acting civil. More than civil, you were acting like friends!" Len exclaimed.

"Oh, _that._"

"No, the pig that just flew around the castle. Of course that!"

"ER… you see… (Len taps her fingers impatiently) I sort of… like him?" Melissa said with a very sheepish smile.

Len was stunned. She knew that Sirius liked her, but she returned his feelings? That was just unheard of. Was it possible that they had a chance? "W-what?"

"Please Len, don't tell anyone. Even Lily. And not Remus either. Please?" Melissa asked.

Len looked at the desperation in her eyes. Slowly, she nodded.

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The next day, James was released from the "murder house" as he and Remus so affectionately called it. They all had classes since it was Monday, and for once, Len got an "E" in Herbology. She was very happy, and wrote to her parents. Then, the Marauders and the girls had a charms class together, and Lily had charmed 6 sheets of parchment to act like a muggle chatboard. They received one each. To send a private message, you have to write it like a letter. (Lily,_ Len,_** Melissa, **James, **Sirius, **_Remus.)_

Is it just me, or is charms the easiest?

Nah, transfigs the best.

**I couldn't agree more.**

_You guys are crazy, DADAs the best! Right Remus?_

_Sorry, guys, but I agree with Len. If you had to teach a subject, what would you teach?_

Charms.

**Transfig.**

Transfig.

**Transfig.**

_I think we're outnumbered Len._

_How come no one chose DADA? That's what I'm going to choose. Did I tell you Remus? I want to teach at Hogwarts when I'm out._

_No, you didn't. Good luck._

**Sheesh, why don't you two use the private message way?**

I think that they don't want to be bothered.

I agree with James.

**Ditto.**

**Same here. And, what does ditto mean?**

_It's a muggle saying we taught her. It means that she agrees with the last statement said._

_Len, you probably just gave him a new favourite word. Look at the smile on his face._

Watch out you guys, Flitwicks coming your way!

_We'll be back when he's gone._

Do you think that they'll get away with it?

**Len's an excellent liar when she wants to be. She'll get out no problem. You should have seen her when she got me out of trouble once. **

Please, once? Try about five times in first year!

**Yep, she can be a good liar. She just told him nice and loudly that she and Remus had not been writing notes to their friends, but jotting down points of his speech. But that they had run out of ink, so they were about to ask their friends for a spare bottle. Note how she covered up the parchment and full ink bottle with her charms book, open to the page that were supposed to be studying.**

_Okay, who knew that Len was such a good liar?_

_Why thank you Remus, and I'm a natural if I want to be._

Everyone, pay attention! Homework's being assigned.

**Oh great, 10 inches on Protean charms? I didn't even listen…**

Serves you right.

_Lils, you didn't listen either._

… Come on, time to go.

The end of another chapter! Yay! R&R!


	10. Bad Days and Truth or Dare

**_Ch.10, Bad Days and Truth or Dare_**

Many days passed, and the two resident couples were hardly seen without the other. Remus paid a visit to the Hospital Wing so he could go to the whomping willow, and the girls were left alone one night, because the boys had mysteriously disappeared.

" Hey, does anyone know what a saloe root does when raw?" Melissa asked, chewing on her quill while working on a Potion's essay.

" Try looking in the book under '100 magical roots and stems'" Lily said, obviously miserable.

" Sheesh, the teachers want us to study for exams, but how do they expect us to get the time with all this work?" Len said tiredly as she finished _another_ paper.

"I don't know Len, I really don't know." Lily said distractedly. There were building piles beside each girl, the finished assignments. There was also a shortening pile of work to do. The girls spent hours on homework, and it was 12:30 when there was not much left. Melissa got up and yawned.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed. Goodnight."

Both girls said mumbled 'nights and soon Len did the same as Melissa. Lily was just about to do the same, but she fell asleep at the table.

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Several hours later, Lily woke with a start. She had heard the portrait hole open, she was sure of it. She looked around the room, but no one was there.

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"Well, Prongs, don't you think that was a close call? You should teach you're girlfriend not to fall asleep at the table. Can you imagine the trouble she would give us if we had not forgotten to take off the cloak before we came in?" Sirius said.

"Yeah." James responded absently. He was actually thinking about how beautiful Lily was when she slept.

"Hellooooo? Earth to Prongs? You in there?" Sirius said, waving a hand in front of James's face.

"What? Oh, yeah, g'night Sirius." James said. He pulled the bed hangings around him, as did Sirius on his own bed.

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Later that morning, Lily was telling the others what had happened.

" I don't mean to make you seem crazy, but are you sure you weren't imagining it?" Melissa said.

" She could be right Lils. The mind does funny things when it's half asleep." Len pointed out.

"Maybe you're right. Oh, I don't know! It's all so confusing!" Lily cried, very frustrated.

" Listen, let's go to breakfast, maybe some food will help clear things up." Melissa said.

"You know Mel, I don't see why you and Sirius don't get along better, The answer to any friends problem? Food." Lily said.

Len caught Melissa's eye. It was lucky that Lily was in front of them, because Melissa was blushing.

At breakfast, they all took their regular seats with the Marauders. As Lily told James about her experience, Len couldn't help but notice that James looked very guilty. She had no one to sit with because Remus would still be in the Hospital Wing until lunch. So, the group of them headed to Herbology, but Len was nervous. Without Remus, what sort of mark would she get? She was terrible at the subject!

When they arrived at the greenhouses, Len sat down on the ground at her normal spot. Professor Green waltzed in, holding a large handful of earmuffs.

"Right, today we will be reviewing Mandrakes! But not baby ones, we will be working on fully grown ones! Everyone take a pair of earmuffs please."

There was a sudden scramble for ones that weren't looking as if they were a hundred years old. They were all lucky, as Lily had been the one to choose the _regular_ spot, and it was near the front. They got a pair of the newer earmuffs, even if they were covered in pink spots. Len, Lily and Melissa were shaking in silent fits of laughter at the scowling James and Sirius, as they put on fluffy powder blue earmuffs with white clouds on them. If they could have heard what Sirius had called them, he would've been smacked 4 times. One by each girl, and one from James for insulting his girlfriend. They were split into groups of four, and by some miracle, Len was _not_ left out. James was. So, they each got one, fully grown, screaming Mandrake. They assigned each other jobs sort of, and so Melissa and Sirius struggled to hold it steady out of the pot. Lily and Len hurried and replaced the manure in the pot, and signaled for them to put it in. they did so happily. Both blushed as their hands brushed. Lily noticed it. But since they couldn't hear a thing, she would ask Melissa about it later. But Sirius noticed too.

So they continued to baby-sit the plant until it got angry and bit Len for doing something wrong. It only caused light bruising, since it hit her on her glove. She refused to go to the Hospital Wing, but her friends argued that she might be able to see Remus. Len argued back, because she had a feeling that he may not _want_ to be seen. Of course, she didn't say that, but Sirius agreed with her. So, they headed to their next class, Potions, with Len being careful of her bruised hand. But it didn't help when James and Sirius kept levitating the wrong ingredients into Snape's potion when he wasn't looking. Of course, this didn't help because Lily and Len were sitting beside him, and therefore got sprayed with something similar to stinksap when they put in Banshee hair. But it burned like acid. Both girls screamed, and James and Sirius were given a few days of detention. Lily then refused to talk to James. On her way out, Len mumbled something about today not being her day.

This was proven at lunchtime when Melissa, Len and Sirius were standing in-between an angry Lily and a moping James. Then, Len slipped on something on the floor, and fell into it. Everyone in the Great Hall but her friends were laughing since she had landed in a pile of sticky buns. These were no normal sticky buns, since they were made by house elves, who had exaggerated them a bit. Len's hand was stuck to the floor. She went bright red as a very familiar hand offered to pull her free. She smiled as Remus hauled her to her feet. She was still red.

"Well, nice to see you Len." Remus said cheerfully.

"Nice to see you too. You wouldn't believe the day I've had. First, I get bitten by a Mandrake, then me and Lily get soaked with something vile in Potions thanks to _those two_, and I've had to play peace maker between Lily and James for said reason. And then I fall and get laughed at by the entire school, so, you're the first good thing in my day." Len said, and then laughing at the pitiful look on his face.

"Well, I'm glad I made you feel better. So, the Hogsmead weekends coming up for Valentines Day, you want to go?"

"Of course I do. Did you really think I'd say no?" Len said, while giving Remus a quick peck on the cheek.

"Great. So I'll meet you in the Great Hall okay?"

"Deal. Now, I'm starving."

Remus laughed as she started searching for something without meat in it. She smiled and took a piece of toast, and put jam on it. He took a sandwich from the magically refilling platter that Sirius and James seemed to be trying to empty. But then the warning bell sounded, and so they stopped.

On their way to COMC, Lily and James seemed to be missing holding each other's hands. They reached the paddock, and all sighed as they saw the Professor already there. They filed into the area, but then he started lecturing them.

" This year, you are sure to encounter Thresals in your exam. These are the creatures that pull the Hogwarts carriages. Many of you can't see them, does anyone know why?"

The Griffindor expert in this subject raised his hand and said, " The only people that have seen Thresals, are the ones who have seen death."

"Very good, ten points to Griffindor! Now, I am going to bring you a very large picture of a Thresal, and I want people to try and guess what it looks like and draw it from the description in the textbook."

As he brought out the picture, Lily, Len and Melissa glanced at each other. They took out their quills and started drawing. By the end of the allotted time, no one in the class except for a Slytherin had better drawings than Lily, Len, Melissa and Remus. They handed in their drawings, and left the class, with the Marauders giving them strange looks. Lily looked extremely grave. Len looked sad and on the verge of tears. Melissa didn't look as sad as either of them, but looked sad for them. James spoke up.

"Lily, how come you can see Thresals and never told me?" he asked. He immediately regretted doing this, as her eyes hardened, and she responded quickly and curtly.

"I don't want to talk about it." And with that, she set off to the castle at a quicker pace, and before she followed, Len gave them a look that told them to tred carefully on this subject.

"Melissa, what was that all about?" James asked.

"Lily has never talked much on the subject. All three of us can see them. Ever since third year for both Lily and Len. Fourth year for me. I saw a squirrel die, so I'm not that sad on the subject. We don't even know who or what Lily saw die. She never talks about it. I wouldn't ask her again if I were you." Melissa said fastly before she too set off after Lily.

The Marauders stared. James and Remus because their girlfriends lived with such a burden. Remus thought he would ask Len about it later.

When they got to Transfiguration, they saw that the girls had the charmed parchment on their desks. Unfortunately the private message option had worn off, so they had to make due with the normal (Lily _Len _**Melissa **James **Sirius **_Remus) _(stuff in brackets is what happens in the classroom)

_'Kay, you guys know the rules. Do we all know what McGonnagle is teaching?_

Yes

Yes

_Yep_

**Yeah **

**Yeperoo.**

_Okay, what do you want to talk about?_

_No clue._

We could discuss ideas to prank the Slytherins! 

Or I could dump you in the lake…

**Lily! **

Sorry Mel.

Ha! You couldn't dump me in the lake even if you tried! 

You want a bet?

_Lily!_

**Lily calm down!**

( All three girls and Remus are trying not to laugh at the look of confusion on James and Sirius's faces, which only made them more confused)

_How about we discuss… okay, I don't have a clue. Any RESONABLE ideas?_

**How about we play truth or dare?**

No!

Why not? 

_How about Truth or Dare Three Reprieves? _

_How exactly do you play that? _

It's just like normal truth or dare, but you get three reprieves if you don't want to do or admit something.

_Well… okay._

**Yay!**

Fine.

**Okay.**

You're outnumbered Lil.

Ok, fine, I'm in.

**Okay, since it was my idea, I go first. James, t or d?**

Dare.

**You are so dead. Okay, you have to dive in the lake, with nothing on but swimming trunks.**

Are you crazy? It's freezing out there! 

A dares a dare James. Or, you could use a reprieve.

No way, I know Sirius, he's trying to get me to use all my reprieves! I'll do it. Okay, my turn. Lily, truth or dare?

No way am I choosing truth with you…dare! 

Okay, you have to go to Hogsmead with me on Valentines Day.

That's your dare? I'd have gone to Hogsmead with you if you asked normally!

I know but I couldn't think of anything.

Okay, my turn. Sirius, truth or dare? 

**Oooh dare!**

Now you're going to regret making my boyfriend jump in the lake. Okay… you have to flirt with…McGonnagle!

_Good one Lily!_

I didn't know you had it in you.

_Has anyone seen my camera?_

**Lily, I admire you.**

**Hey, I'll flirt with anybody, sure thing. Now, it's my turn. Len, truth or dare?**

_I don't trust you one bit with dare, so I'll have to go with truth._

**Good, there's one thing I've been curious about for a while. What do you girls do when you disappear for the night? I think you call them GNs?**

_…Reprieve._

**Oh, s---. I was really hoping you would answer.**

_To bad. My turn now. Melissa, truth or dare?_

**Dare!**

_Hmmm…I'm not good with thinking up these things. How about you have to… don't kill me for this, it's your own doing. You have to declare undying love for Snape, at the Valentines Day feast!_

You're good at this Len, remind me to pick truth with you…

**Your evil! There's no way I'm doing that!**

Remus, you have a very smart girlfriend.

_Well Mel, you can always use a reprieve…_

**I still say your evil. Alright, I'm using a reprieve. My turn, Remus, t or d?**

_Um… dare I guess._

**----, I was hoping you would say truth. Okay, you have to… kiss Len in front of the whole school.**

_You think that that's revenge?_

_I don't mind if Len doesn't._

_Not at all._

_'Kay, Len, truth or dare?_

_Hmmm…truth._

**Oh Remus, ask the same thing I did!**

_Nope, sorry Sirius. Okay, Len, what did you feel in first term when you found out I had a crush on you?_

_I didn't know what to feel. Surprise mainly, but maybe a little hope._

_Really?_

_Yeah. Now, my turn. Lily, truth or dare?_

After what you tried to make Melissa do, there's no way I'm choosing dare. Truth.

**Oooh, Len, say what-**

_Sirius, do you really think I would do that when I used a reprieve on the subject? Okay Lily, what did you really think of James in fourth year?_

What's this all about?

You'll pay Len, I swore you to secrecy!

_Yes, but you never swore yourself to secrecy did you?_

All right, all right. I thought he was hot.

Really? Then how come you always rejected me in the other years?

_You'll have to wait you're turn. It's mine now. James, truth or dare?_

Dare! ( evil smile from Lily) why do I think I'll regret that?

Because I'm daring you to not ask me anything about the above statement that I thought you were hot in fourth year. Ha!

Ohhh… Okay, Remus, T or D?

_I don't trust you with dare, so I'll go with truth._

Okay, do you know what the girls do on GNs?

_Yeah, but I'm not telling you. Len swore me to secrecy. _

----, that was going to be my next question.

_Okay, I'm running out of ideas… Len, t or d?_

_Truth._

_Okay, as I said I'm running out of ideas, so what are you most afraid of?_

_This is going to sound childish, but I'm afraid of the dark._

**Really?**

_Don't tease me okay? I can't stand it._

_No problem. You're turn._

_McGonnagle!_

Scatter!

"Well, Miss Candel, if your paying so much attention, what stage of becoming an animagus is the one where you can see what animal you will become?" Mcgonnagle said.

Len faked concentration. "The last one?"

"Good, you were listening. Now, I expect you all to have 10 inches of parchment done on the subject of the steps of becoming animagus. To be handed in on Monday. You are dismissed." She said curtly.

On their way out, both groups were trying to conceal grins of expected ease. Only Remus knew the truth.


	11. Valentines Day and Dares Fufiled

**_Ch.11, Valentines Day and Dares Fulfilled _**

Valentines Day was approaching the castle, and so prefects and the Heads were called upon more and more often to decorate the place. Many times Melissa and Sirius were left behind, and they learned a lot about each other. One thing that made Melissa's heart soar, he only dates a ton of girls now to keep his rep up. He was starting not to date so many, and Melissa found herself thinking about him more and more. Meanwhile, Lily and James were trying to convince Dumbledore that a Valentines Day ball would increase the morals of the students greatly. It didn't take much convincing. It would take place after the Hogsmead trip was over. About 9 o'clock it would start. Len and Remus were planning to meet for lunch after Lily, Len and Melissa did all the shopping they needed. Finally the day came. Lily even charmed heart shaped candles to float around the Great Hall. Until the Hogsmead part of the day, Lily and James were never sighted out of a one-foot range of each other. Len and Remus were never apart. The teachers did nothing if a couple was found in the library or a closet. Finally, James, Sirius and Remus headed to The Three Broomsticks, and the girls headed for a dress shop.

"So, what sort of dress are you ladies looking for?" the store clerk asked.

"We're not exactly sure. Could we just look around?" Lily asked.

"Certainly! I assume you're here about the Hogwarts ball? The ball gowns are over there." The clerk said.

"Thank you. (they walk that way) this place is filled with girls… we better get looking, before all the good ones are gone." Len pointed out.

Each girl set about looking for something. The dress code was simple. Something either white, red or pink. Len soon found something wonderful and affordable. She left to try it on. Lily also found a beautiful dress, and did the same. Melissa was having trouble finding something. She didn't even have a date yet! Finally, something caught her eye. It was a tad expensive, but affordable. She went to try it on, and it fit perfectly. She went to the cash register, and found Lily and Len paying for their dresses. She did the same, and the three girls found themselves just in time to meet the boys.

"Shall we?" James said, holding his arm out to Lily. She giggled, and they left towards the castle. Len and Remus had already left and Len's head was resting on his shoulder. They were off to Madame Puddifoots, a new café near the end of the main road. Melissa and Sirius were left alone.

They had a great time. Melissa's crush for him even deepened. As did Sirius's. By the time they left, Sirius was walking up to the castle with her, and he turned to face her.

"Erm… Melissa…"

She turned to face him. "What?"

"Um…"

Melissa stared. Sirius Black nervous? "Well, spit it out!"

"Um… you probably already have a date, but if you don't, will you go to the ball with me?"

Melissa was stunned. When she didn't respond, he said, "It's alright if you don't, I understand…"

"No, Sirius, wait! I was just stunned that's all. I-I would love to go with you." Melissa said, blushing the same shade as her dress.

"R-really?"

"Yeah. Well, see you then, then." And she walked off.

Sirius practically skipped to the dorm. He didn't even pay attention to the 30 or so girls running around frantic in the common room. When he entered his room, Remus asked him what he was so happy about.

"I'm going to the ball with Melissa." He said dreamily.

"You're going to the ball with _who?_" James asked as he stepped out of the bathroom.

"Melissa." He replied in the same dreamy voice.

"Well, you better get ready, or are you going to the ball in Hogwarts robes?" Remus said. He was dressed in the same robes as the Christmas ball. James pulled his on, and Sirius showered and put his on. They went downstairs to wait for the girls. It was quarter to nine when they came down. Their date's jaws dropped.

Lily was dressed in a low-cut dress that was the exact same shade as her hair. It was halter style, and the skirt part had little pink hearts sewn on. She had charmed all three girls' hair to literally sparkle, and she wore matching gloves.

Len had a dress that reached the floor, and the top was completely white. There were stripes of pink that swirled around the ball-gown style skirt. It was low-cut, and it was held up by white straps at her shoulders. Just like the rest of them, her hair, which was in a bun, sparkled.

Melissa was wearing a blood-red dress, and it was held up in the same style as Len's. She had elbow length matching gloves, and her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. Her feet were in dark red shoes, and she wore the same heart pendant that the other two wore around her neck. It had a silver chain, and three pink hearts on it.

The boys were in awe. The girls laughed, and several looked on, jealous that their dates were the most popular boys in Griffindor. They went down to their dates, and that seemed to wake them up. All three boys offered their arms to their respective girls, and they left the common room. James did have to admit, being taller than Lily had advantages. He was 6 feet, and she was 5'6. Len was 5'6, which made her three inches shorter than Remus, and Melissa was 5'8. Unfortunately for Sirius, he was only 6'0.

When they got to the great hall, the festivities began. The hall was gorgeous. Pink and red candles were floating around, and the tables were red. All the couples had a great time, and their nights contained only dancing at first, but then they each found places to kiss with their partner, but Melissa and Sirius stayed behind and just learned more about each other. Though, he did have to admit, he liked the feeling of her body against his. They were just going to go to the common room. They had left early, but Sirius had wanted to talk to her alone. When they got there, he turned to face her.

"Melissa, I was wondering, I had a great time tonight, and I was wondering if you'd be my girlfriend?" he stuttered.

She through her arms around him and said, "I'd love to."

No one saw them for the rest of the evening.

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When Melissa joined the girls in the dormitory, they turned to face her.

"And just _where_ have you been?" Lily asked.

Melissa blushed. When she didn't answer, Len said, "I guess Sirius asked her to be his _girlfriend_" she said, and both girls had teasing expressions on their face.

"Oh shush both of you. Yes, he did ask me to be his girlfriend, and you don't need to know where we were." Melissa replied as she pulled on her PJs and went to bed.

The girls laughed and did the same.

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Sirius walked confidently into the boy's dormitories later that night, and was immediately confronted.

"Sirius, where have you been? It's nearly midnight!" James shouted.

"I was with my girlfriend _Melissa_." He replied dreamily.

Remus opened his mouth to argue, but then faltered. "Wait, your girlfriend _Melissa?_"

"Yeah. I asked her, and she said she'd love to. Well, goodnight." He said and promptly climbed into bed.

00000000000000000

The next morning, the boys decided it would look good on them if they waited for the girls to take them down to breakfast. Soon, Len came down the stairs and was immediately greeted by Remus.

"Hi Remus." She said and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Hi Len." He said and returned the favour.

"Hi Len. Do you know when Lily's coming down?"

"Yeah, and Melissa?"

Len started laughing hysterically. "Both of them saw you guys at the bottom of the stairs, and are currently fixing their hair!"

An angry-at-Len Lily came down the stairs, with a scowl, but with _perfect_ hair. "Gee Len, you make it sound so funny. Hi James, how are you?" she said, turning from ticked to nice.

"I'm good. You?"

"Great. I enjoyed last night by the way…" and they were off to the great hall.

"Well, lets go. Oh, one more thing. MELISSA! SIRIUS IS WAITING!" Len shouted up the stairs. Then she and Remus left for the great hall, splitting their sides laughing at a blushing Sirius.

Melissa pretended not to hear, but when she came down blushing it said differently. She greeted Sirius with a quick peck on the cheek and laughed when he put on a puppy dog face. She mouthed "later" and he cheered up right away.

When the newest couple got to the great hall, hand in hand, there were several cries from the different tables, as the female population at Hogwarts saw Sirius with a girl. Since Sirius was the most popular boy after James stopped dating so he could go after Lily, he was the most sought after.

The couple ignored the bunch of girls that glared at Melissa, or looked wishfully at Sirius. They went and sat down beside the others, and the girls were laughing at a prank the boys had once pulled. They ate in peace for the most part. Until the mail came. Sirius and Melissa were bombarded by Sirius's fan club mail. All the girls were either angry at Melissa for going out with him, or they were angry at Sirius for going out with her. The group went to DADA, and on their way Lily re-charmed the parchments. But she left out the private message thing, because they never used it. They sat down at their normal desks, about halfway up the room. They took out their things and made like they were taking notes, glancing up every once in a while. (you know the fonts, but in case you forget, Lily, _Len_**, Melissa**, James,** Sirius,**_ Remus. **Everyone who didn't say the last line.**_ Things in brackets are what happens in the classroom.)

**Len, before you even ask, we all know what he is teaching, it's boggart review for goodness sake.**

_I wasn't going to ask._

Okay, today is the day that you guys fulfil your dares. Sorry James, you still have to jump in the lake, but Sirius, unfortunately your girlfriend got you out of yours.

**Yay! Thank you Melissa!**

**Don't thank me yet. You have to agree to jump in the lake too, if your not gonna flirt with McGonnagle.**

**Hey, no problem! **

_Well how about we keep playing T or D Three Reprieves?_

_Sounds good! Since it was Remus's idea, he goes first._

_Thank you Len. Now… Sirius, truth or dare?_

**When will I ever pick truth? Dare.**

_Okay, how about after you jump in the lake, you have to fly your broom around still in swimming trunks, and no drying spells._

**Sheesh, you guys all like the cold don't you?**

**_You're the one making James jump in the lake!_**

**Oh yeah, I am aren't I? Okay, I'll do it. Melissa, T or D?**

**Well, I cant say I was expecting that… no way I'm doing dare with your mind… truth!**

**Okay, what do you girls do on GNs?**

**Reprieve.**

**Oh come on!**

**Nope. Okay, Len, truth or dare?**

_I've been picking truth to much. Dare!_

**Well that was unexpected. Okay, you have to… eat ten Sherbert balls at once and not be noticed by the teachers.**

_Now?_

**No, at dinner.**

_Okay, sure. Um… Lily, t or d?_

Uh… dare!

_Ok, you have to…any ideas guys?_

No way am I saying anything.

_How about she joins James and Sirius in the lake?_

**How about she has to s- **

_**Don't say anything along those lines!**_

**What, I was just about to say what James was thinking! **

(Lily glares at James)

I wasn't thinking that, honest!

**How about she has to break a rule?**

_Most of those are good suggestions, but I prefer Remus's idea. Lily, you have to join James and Sirius in jumping in the lake with nothing but a bathing suit on!_

I'm not dreading tonight as much anymore…

James, T or D?

Dare!… I really shouldn't've said that, should I?

No, you shouldn't've. Okay, James, for that other line above my question, you also have to ride around on your broom!

Oh, come on! Give me a break please?

(Lily nearly bursts out laughing at the puppy-dog face he is giving her. However, this gives them away to the teacher, and to avoid suspicion, they have to stop there.)

000000000At the lake 0000000000

"I c-cant believe I agreed to do th-this." Lily stuttered as she shivered.

The three of them were standing by the lake, with nothing but bathing suits on. Actually, James didn't look upset at all. He was directing his gaze to a bikini-clad Lily who was shivering with her arms crossed over her chest. And he was receiving slaps from said girl.

"Okay, on three… one…two…three!" Sirius shouted as he cannonballed in. James and Lily followed suit. In seconds they were out, and since it wasn't past many peoples curfews, practically the entire school was staring at them. But Remus, Len and Melissa were rolling on the ground laughing. Then McGonnagle came up and said "Miss Evans, Mr.Potter and Mr.Black, get out of there before you catch cold!" Then she went into the 'I-expected-more-of-you speech, and the where-did-you-get-such-a-crazy-idea speech.

After she went away, Lily dried herself off and changed behind a towel held up by Len and Melissa, and warded off James with threats of embarrassing spells. Meanwhile, Remus was off getting their brooms. After Lily changed and the brooms arrived, James and Sirius got on them, shivering, and flew around the staring and laughing school. The landed and saw that to their utter horror, that Len had everything on a muggle camcorder. Lily wouldn't do it because he was her boyfriend, and Melissa and Remus didn't know how to use one. As the boys dried off, she passed the camcorder to Lily and ran off towards the castle with the tape. Of course, she had a head start because James and Sirius didn't know it was the tape that mattered, and were trying to get the recorder from Lily. Then, a laughing to the ground Lily told them (after seeing that Len was in the castle) that the recorder didn't matter, just the tape that Len had run off with. Both boys stared at the spot that she had occupied and swore. That was perfect blackmail material! They ran off, ignoring what Lily and Melissa shouted their way about the fact that she would've already reached the girl's dorms.

She had indeed reached them, and made several fake copies with her wand. She hid the real one of course, but then went downstairs with the fakes and put them all around the common room. Just as she was about to put some in the bookshelf, James and Sirius raced in, and saw all the fakes. They obviously thought they were real, because they looked very scared. Len smiled and pointed around the room, where people were picking up the fakes. They ran around frantically and picked them all up, not knowing that Lily had explained to Remus how to use the camcorder. Len saw this and nearly burst out laughing at the thought of what excellent blackmail this would be. Two tapes, one of James and Sirius flying in swimming shorts and dripping wet in the middle of February. The other one of the same two people running around the common room still in swimming shorts and pulling fake tapes out of other people's hands. Their fun was short lived though, as said men soon saw this, and, while shouting 'traitor' ran after him. As he rounded a sofa, he saw Sirius coming to head him off. So, he tossed the tape to Len, who caught it and ran up the girls' dorm stairs with adrenaline type speed. The boys cursed and followed, hoping that if they stepped on the stairs, they would slide and so would she. Len was halfway up when Sirius stepped on it. The entire staircase turned into a slide, and all of them, including her, were surprised when she jumped and held onto the railing. Her grip was slipping, so while James and Sirius (still in bathing suits) were hoping that she would drop the tape so she would hold on, she tossed the tape up the stairs, where it stayed, and put the other hand to use. She climbed up the railing, and at the top smiled at the stunned looks on the common room's face. (by that, I mean everyone in the common room.)

"What, it's not like I cant climb! Oh, and James and Sirius, those are _fake_ tapes, so they wouldn't work anyway! I have the real one hidden, blackmail material like that comes around once in a lifetime! See you later, Remus!" and with a blown kiss at her smiling boyfriend, she walked to her dorm, the tape in her hand.

The common room exploded with laughter at the two dumbfounded boys standing in front of the girls' staircase.


	12. Infiltration

**_Infiltration _**

Many days later, Len had fuffiled her dare by putting a Temporary Sticking charm on her chair, and the chair legs. It was getting into March now, and James pulled Sirius and Remus aside one day because he had an idea.

"Guys, do you remember when Len climbed up the railing to the girls dorms? Well, I bet that's how we can get up the stairway!"

"I don't know James. Our girlfriends would kill us if they saw us in their dorms." Remus said. Sirius agreed.

"Oh come on guys! Where's your Marauder spirit? We use the _invisibility cloak!_"

"Hey, that could work!" Sirius said excitedly.

"I don't know…" Remus said doubtfully.

"Come on Moony! Don't you want a chance to see Len in a towel maybe…" James said, trying to convince him.

Remus obviously liked being a Marauder, because he agreed. "Well, I guess. But if they see us, it was your idea. I only come along to make sure you two don't see something you shouldn't."

"Alright Moony!" Sirius said.

"So, tonight when there are no more girls left in the common room, we grab the cloak, and climb up the railing. Got it?" James said.

" Got it!"

"…got it."

So that evening, the boys waited until the last girl, Greta, went to bed. Then, they went up and grabbed the cloak, and covered themselves and went to the common room.

Since they hadn't been under the cloak for a while, they had to get used to it. Once they were, they stepped on the slippery ledge that was part of the railing. They climbed up, and were careful not to slip. They got up, and went quickly but silently to their dorms. They were almost caught when Barbarra, their dormmate, came out. But the boys took the opened door and went in.

Their jaws dropped. Melissa was sitting on her bed, which was to the left of Lily's, and was wearing a low-cut, short nightgown. She was doing her nails. On the other side of Lily's bed, was Len, using an over-large shirt as a nightgown. But it was still short. She was on her stomach, doing a DADA essay. She waved her legs as she wrote down the answer to something. But then James' jaw dropped as Lily came out of the bathroom, nothing on but a towel. She went over to her bed, and just as she was about to get changed, Remus put a hand over James' and Sirius's face. He put a finger to his lips as they opened their mouthes to protest. By the time he opened his eyes, and put his hand back, she had changed and was chatting with the others. James whispered an insult to Remus, but stopped when he heard what they were saying.

" So, tommorow we shouldn't have much homework because it's Friday. How about a GN?" Lily said.

"Sounds great. By the way, are you guys going to tell James and Sirius about the secret?" Len asked.

Lily thought for a moment. "I might. I don't think he'd blab to anyone if I swore him to secrecy."

"I think I'll have to know Sirius for a while longer before I tell him. By the end of the year maybe." Melissa said, finnishing her nails.

"Well, lets go to bed. If we're going to have one, we'll need rest. G'night." Len said as she pulled the covers over herself. They all said goodnight, and fell asleep. Now, the boys faced another problem. Getting out. They saw that the girls were in a deep sleep. They could tell by their eyes moving under the eyelids. That meant that they were dreaming. They started to quietly disscuss ways to get out. Remus shushed them, remembering the time that Len had told him about being able to fake a deep sleep. They decided it would be best to open the door a tiny bit, and go out. They did so, and climbed down the railing. They slipped through the common room, and up to the boy's rooms.

"Remus, why didn't you let me see her?" James complianed.

"I told you, its my job to make sure you don't. That's why I did it. Not to mention that if she ever found out she would absolutely kill you." Remus replied, climbing into bed.

"So, did you hear them? What do you suppose their secret is?" Sirius siad.

"I hope its not something dangerous." James pondered.

"I don't know. What do you think Moony?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not telling you." He mumbled from underneath the covers.

"So you do know! Come on Moony old pal, tell us! We wont tell anyone!" James pleaded.

"You heard what the girls said. If your gonna know, their going to tell you themselves." He said, and didn't respond to any further questions. So, James and Sirius gave up, for now, and headed to bed. But not before they had a plan for the next day.

0000000000000000000

That morning, Remus woke up to a mess of a room. He sighed. He was still tired, so he started to fall back to sleep. Then, a large bucket of ice cold water was tossed on the bed. That woke him up. He then saw James and Sirius laughing their heads off, an empty bucket in their hands. Remus reached for his wand and dried himself off, then used a jynx that Len had taught him. It was basically a super-laxitive. James and Sirius would be going to the bathroom a lot.

They went down to the common room and met the girls. At the great hall, both victims excused themselves numerous times during breakfast. When they asked Remus about it, he answered truthfully and people stared at them for laughing so loud. They split up for classes, and met for lunch. It became common sight for someone to see James or Sirius running to the nearest bathroom. The teachers even asked if they might have had an allergic reaction to something they ate for breakfast.

At that point Remus had to take off the spell. But not before another tape of James and Sirius running to the bathroom with pained expressions on their faces was added to the Blackmail Collection. Len made all the separate tapes into one, and hid it and put charms on it with Lily's help.

That night, Lily was right. They didn't have much homework. The three girls spent their free time doing several assignements. Then James and Sirius got angry at Remus for deciding not to go. They couldn't care less about that he wouldn't go, but he gave the girls such a head start by telling them off for going. By the time the friends had got to the North tower, the girls had transformed and were watching them with a disappointed glance. The girls were even a little envious of Len, because she was the only one with a boyfriend that wasn't trying to invade their privacy. Lily's anger grew as James looked out the window and waved to Sirius. He came over, and at the confermation that her boyfriend was here too, Melissa stiffened. She then let off a loud cry, one that could easily get the boys caught. Then she flew away, Len glared at the boys, and flew after her with Lily.

James and Sirius frowned. The birds were acting strange, that's a certain. But he didn't have time to ponder it, as both boys could hear the cat approaching. That raven had given them away. They quickly covered themselves with the cloak, and ran back to the dorms.

000000000000000

Remus was upset. Len had arrived and told him that he should tell the others not to expect nice treatment in the morning. That meant that they had seen the girls, but probably didn't see them transform. There would have been more yelling. Then, just as he was stuffing away Len's personally delivered note (she didn't dare transform on anywhere but the tower.) the boys came in. Sirius looked curiously at the very guilty look on Remus's face. But then James started talking.

"I cant believe they escaped again! We were right on their trail! Next time we'll have to go to the tower before hand…" James said.

"Um, guys, I _really_ don't think you should follow them again. Len gave me this note." Remus said, as he showed them the note.

_Dear Remus,_

_I think you should tell James and Sirius not to expect nice treatment from Lily and Melissa. They followed us again, and this time it got Lily and Mel super ticked. If I were them, I wouldn't go near them with a ten-foot pole. Don't worry, none of us are angry at you. You didn't follow us and invade our privacy. See you tommorow!_

_Your girlfriend with very angry best friends, Len._

"This isn't good." James said.

"Well, at least your girl has a chance of forgiving you. I just got going with Melissa. She is so going to dump me…" Sirius trailed off.

"Listen, have you guys heard of _apologizing?_ Just admit you did something wrong, promise never to do it again, and this'll probably all blow away." Remus said in a calm voice.

" I hope so. I don't know what I'd do without Lily." James said. Little did he know that the camcorder was at it again. It was turned on just under the covers of Remus's bed. Once he was sure that they were asleep, he took the tape out, and gave it to the brown owl waiting outside the window. She took it in her solid gold talons, and flew a few windows over to the girls dorms. There, she took it in, and put it with the other. Then she flew up to North tower, and joined her friends.

That next morning the girls were down in the common room. They were perfectly happy until the boys came down their stairs. Lily and Melissa fumed, and Len didn't exactly look welcomingly at anyone but Remus. The boys were going to apologize, but only once they found them, because Lily and Melissa had left at a swift pace through the portrait hole after they saw them. Len gave Remus a quick peck on his cheek, and hurried after her friends.

James refused to use the Marauders Map to invade their privacy again. So, they went on foot, checking all of their usual haunts. The lake, the library, the common room, and even the tower. The girls were nowhere to be found. Remus glanced at the large owl that had been near them all day. Len could fly around without arousing suspicion, because she was an owl. They were a common sight in Hogwarts. She nodded her head towards him, and flew off towards the forrest. So that was where they were hiding. Pheonix tears can cure anything, so they were safe. Remus spoke up.

"Maybe if we send them a letter saying to meet us somewhere, they would respond." He sugested.

Sirius snorted. "If they wanted to talk with us, they wouldn't've hiden. But, we don't have any other ideas." He got out some parchment and a quill. He wrote very neatly that the boys would appreciate them meeting by the lake at one oclock. They sent it off with a school owl, and a half an hour later the same brown owl with gold talons came and dropped of a reply. Remus smiled at the bird, which hooted in return. But James and Sirius werent paying attention to the bird and their best friend. They were happy that the girls had agreed to meet them. They didn't notice that Remus was carrieing on a nice converation with an owl.

00000 That Day At One.00000

The girls were there, sitting on the grass. The boys came up to them and sat across from them, except Remus, who got up and sat with Len. The all stared at each other for about five minutes, when it appeared that Sirius could no longer stand the silence.

"Okay listen, right now almost all of us hate each other, but can we put that aside for one moment? Melissa, I'm sorry I invaded your privacy, and I will never follow you girls again. That's all I can say." He said, with a loud huff.

James spoke up. "Lily, listen. I cant undo what I did last night, but I'm sorry and it'll never happen again. Will you forgive me?"

The girls stared. Then Lily sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, as if weighing consecquenses. All three girls glanced at each other, and obviously came to some sort of agreement. Lily turned to them.

"We cant talk here. Meet us tonight at eleven oclock sharp at the top of North Tower. We'll see you then. Please don't look for us. Oh, and James, stop looking so worried." She said with an encouraging smile, then the three girls went off towards the castle, Len giving Remus a goodbye kiss, and left the boys alone.


	13. The Secret Revealed

**_The Secret Revealed _**

The boys stared at the retreating forms of the girls. Sirius was alive with confusion. What couldn't they talk about here? James was filled with hope. She had said not to worry. Remus was realizing that tonight, everything would come free. He almost smacked himself as he remembered the sorting hat's song._ Because when secrets exist, Opposites will never attract_.

The boys were at the spot early, and had been waiting for almost ten minutes. Just as Sirius was starting to think it was just a big joke, the girls came up to them.

"Hi guys! How are you?" Len asked cheerfully.

" Waiting, and wondering what was so important that you guys couldn't talk about it in the open." James said, looking at Lily.

"Sorry we're late. Anyway, we wanted to tell you that it's us, (Len glares at her) alright, Melissa and I, who should be apologizing." Lily said, looking James straight in the eye.

This caught the boys off guard. "But we're the ones that followed _you_" Sirius said.

"Yeah, but we can understand your curiosity. You wanted to know our secret, and we refused to tell you." Melissa said, while looking at Sirius.

"That's why we are going to tell you everything." Len said in the same cheerful voice.

Remus smiled. The others just looked bewildered. "What?" James managed to get out.

All three girls glanced at each other. "You know how whenever you follow us you never catch us?" Lily asked.

"Yeah…" James answered warily.

"And how you always see some birds instead?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah…" Sirius answered in the same voice that James had.

"And, remember that argument in third year when you called Melissa predictable?" Len asked, looking at Sirius.

"Oh come on girls, they're dying of anticipation!" Remus said jokingly.

All three girls took a step back, looked at each other one last time and transformed. James and Sirius stared. Remus laughed at the look on their faces. When they transformed back into human form, the boys still hadn't found their voices. Len started laughing with Remus, while the others waited for a verdict from their boyfriends.

"Y-your animagus?" Sirius said, still awestruck.

"Yup. That's not a problem is it?" Melissa asked.

"No. Of course not. In fact…" James broke off, as he looked at Sirius. He nodded, and James turned back to the girls. Then, he and Sirius transformed, and it was the girls' turn to stare. They returned to human form, and looked at the girls.

"And here I was hoping that _we_ were the only ones!" Melissa said, exasperated.

"Well, I guess we have more in common than we thought." Len said.

They all heard a loud 'meow!' and turned to face the caretaker's cat. It hissed, and was just about to scamper off to find her master, when Lily and Len, in bird form, obviously had had enough of this cat, and took her in their talons and once again, dumped her in the lake. When they came back, everyone else was in hysterics. The group panicked as they heard the caretaker around the corner. Obviously by instinct, the girls jumped put the window. The boys didn't argue, they just tossed the cloak on them. Snubbs rounded the corner just as they disappeared. He looked around and grunted, then went away.

The birds came back and sat on the windowsill. They looked around and were then startled as the boys took the cloak off. They returned to human form, and stared.

"Er, yeah, that was next on the agenda. I sort of have an invisibility cloak?" James said sheepishly.

"Well, that actually explains a lot of things. Like how you hardly ever get caught, how you followed us without being seen, when Lily woke up from her nap in the common room when she had heard something…" Melissa said.

"We should get back to bed. That cat should be getting out of the lake now, we don't want her telling Snubbs." Len said.

"Wait, that's not all. (he takes out the Map and explains to them.)" James said.

Lily was astonished. "You've never used that on _us_ have you?" she said.

"Only times when we were wondering where you were…" James said nervously.

"Well, at least your being honest…" Lily said.

"Uh, guys, we should get back to the common room." Melissa said, looking at her watch.

"But there's no way that we'll all fit under his cloak!" Sirius said.

"Have you forgotten already? After GNs, we always _fly_ back to our dorms. See you tomorrow Remus" Len said, and with a goodbye kiss, she jumped out the window.

"You know, I'm still not used to seeing her do that." Remus said, shaking his head.

"See you tomorrow James!" Lily said, also giving him a goodnight kiss before she too jumped out the window.

"Sirius, don't look so worried. See you tomorrow okay? G'night." Melissa said as she kissed him on the cheek and joined her friends.

"I understand what you mean Remus. That'll take a while to get used to." James said, as he tossed the cloak over them.

"I cant believe their animagus. I thought we were the only ones!" Sirius whisper yelled.

"Relax Padfoot, who cares if we're not the only ones! Now, they've forgiven you two, so I think it's great. We should go to bed." Remus said.

James sighed. "Your right. Come on, lets go to bed. We'll see the girls in the morning."

And they went to bed.

00000000000000000

"Well, I for one am glad that everything is back to normal." Len sighed, as she flopped down on her bed.

"Can you believe their animagus? I think it's wonderful." Lily said as she did the same as her friend.

"I couldn't agree more." Melissa said as she fell asleep.

0000000000000000

The next morning, the girls walked down to the common room, and saw their boyfriends sitting on the couches and armchairs by the fire. Len walked over and sat on Remus's lap and gave him a goodmorning kiss. Lily sat down on James' lap and did the same. Melissa sat beside Sirius on the loveseat. She also gave him a kiss.

"So, what do you think we should do today?" Lily asked as James smiled because her actions had concluded that everything was indeed back to normal.

"Well, we could do some work…" Len inquired.

"She's right guys. (he turned to the girls) We're planning a prank for April Fools day, so we probably wont want to do work on the day. It's a very special day for us Marauders, when we can prank and no one can blame us for it." He explained to them.

"Well okay, but you should know, we're thinking about joining in on the all-around pranks this year." Len said.

"And just because your our boyfriends doesn't mean you'll get any special treatment." Melissa said and laughed at the look on Sirius' face.

"But, we _might_ go easy on you…" Lily teased.

" I have an idea! How about we have a little competition. On April Fools day, we all plan pranks, and the group with the best one wins!" James said excitedly.

" Well, what would the loser have to do?" Len asked.

" Oh I know! The loser has to buy lunch at the next Hogsmead day!" Remus said excitedly. There was a murmur of agreement.

"Then its agreed! It's the Marauders versus the Birds!" Sirius announced. The group looked strangely at him. "What, you have to have a name! We sign all our pranks _The Marauders,_ you have to have a name and sign your pranks so we know if you did it or not. And the name is fitting, is it not?" Sirius said.

The girls nodded in agreement. "Okay, we're in. I think we should start planning. See you when you're being embarrassed!" Lily shouted as she gave James a quick peck on the cheek and was out the portrait hole with her friends.

"Hah! We'll have it easy. Len's the only one in that group that can prank. We take her out and the other two'll be a breeze. Start thinking what you want for lunch guys!" Sirius said as he relaxed on the sofa.


	14. Prank Wars

_**Sorry it took so long!**_

_**Ch.14, Prank Wars**_

The next day, it was the day before April Fools. People were starting to wonder if The Marauders and their girlfriends had had an argument, because they were hardly ever seen together. But this was just a precaution to make sure the other did see prank plans. But the girls weren't working on pranks. No, at the moment they were working on homework. They already had a ton of pranks ready. Melissa was an expert at Transfig, so half the morning was all set. The girls laughed as they saw the Marauders bragging about how they are going to win the bet. They'll think differently on the day.

The Marauders were very confident that they would win. So, they were so caught up in ideas about how to take out Len, they had forgotten that Lily and Melissa were also her friends, and were bound to have a fallback plan incase something happened.

The day finally came, and the beginning was horrible for James, Sirius and Remus. At about six am, three birds swooped into the dorms. They were a phoenix, an owl, and a raven. Each carried a small bucket of freezing cold lake water. The birds were laughing themselves silly as they slowly tipped each bucket onto their boyfriends' beds.

"Holy ----!" Sirius shouted as he jumped out of bed. The others followed suit. Then each boy was hit with a bucket above their heads. They barely saw the birds swoop out of the window, but the witting on the buckets was proof enough.

_Morning boys! Hope you had a nice sleep!_

_The Birds_

"Wh-what? They got _us?_" Sirius stuttered. The others stared at the writing on the bucket. They were then interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Um, guys? There's something downstairs you should see." Their roommate said from the door.

The Marauders rushed downstairs to see that Lily had charmed a piece of parchment to act as a scoreboard. It hung above the fireplace.

_The Marauders: 0._

_The Birds:1._

_This chart represents the number of pranks pulled on the other team by one team. Active on April Fools Day only._

The common room stared. Someone had challenged the Marauders to a prank-off? Were they crazy? But James recognized the handwriting as Lily's.

"They want a prank-off? Then we'll give them one. Well Remus, looks like you were right. We cant go easy on them. Sirius, go up to our dorm and get a Ready-to-go-prank class B." James instructed.

Sirius just looked confused. " A what-to-go-what class what?" he said.

James sighed. "go and get one of the pranks we have ready. Something to do with breakfast." he replied.

"Ohhh, okay." he said as he ran upstairs. He came down with a small bottle. It was the same thing that Remus had sent Len. He warned that she would know what it was. They didn't care. So, they headed to the great hall and sat in their regular seats. They tipped three drops of the liquid into each girls glass. they didn't see that they were not at their regular seat as usual, but were sitting in the very front. Then the girls got up and left the great hall. That's when Sirius saw them.

"Oi, girls! Aren't you eating anything?" he shouted.

"Oh don't worry Sirius, we just ate with Barbara. Sorry we didn't sit in our regular spots!" Melissa shouted back, with a smile that said do-you-really-think-we'd-eat-with-you-while-we-have-a-prank-war?.

Sirius stared. He then asked "How did they know we'd try something at meals?" he said in a complaining voice.

"Len and Lily are very practical. They'll probably be taking safety precautions all day!" Remus said with realization.

James buried his head in his hands. "And we all know that when Lily and Len become safety conscious, nothing will work on them." he said.

"We've been focusing to much on getting Len out of the game. But if you look at it one way, if we do that, we still have trouble. Sure, Len may be the one with all the ideas, but Lily is the school expert on taking precautions. And Melissa isn't afraid of getting in trouble. We have all that, except we Aren't nearly as good with precautions." Sirius said.

"Come on, we'll be late for Transfig." Remus said as he got up.

"Yeah, alright. Come on Padfoot. We can think of ideas there." Sirius said as he too got up.

The Marauders trudged to transfig, and took their quills and wands out of their bags. They didn't like the fact that the girls had seated themselves at the very back when they came in.

"Be careful guys. Their right behin-aargh!"

Right as they sat down, their chairs turned into chickens. The class stared, then broke into fits of uncontrollable laughter. But the chickens didn't like being sat on, so before the boys could un-transfigure them, they were racing around the classroom, and clucking loudly. Then, everybody tried to stop laughing immediately as Professor McGonnagle came in. She stared, and angrily shouted (after she had changed the chickens back to chairs) "Potter, Black and Lupin, stay after class to arrange detention times. I knew I should've called in sick on April Fools day..."

Only then did they realize that their reputation wasn't going to help them. In fact, it would probably hinder them. As the class went on, they began working on turning parrots into parchment. As the boys transfigured them lazily, they were discussing ideas for pranks. They had a pretty good one when they left. They separated as Sirius and James headed for Potions, and Remus for Muggle studies. They found seats at the opposite end of the room than the girls, and checked their chairs before they sat down. Then Professor Slughorn came in and started talking about Polyjiuce potions.

The boys took out their wands and quietly levitated a jar of frog guts over to the girls. Each one shrieked as lungs, hearts and livers fell on their heads. Slughorn looked straight at the Marauders after the girls cleaned themselves off amid laughter in the room.

"Well, Potter,Black,and Lupin. Isn't it a little despicable to attack your girlfriends? Stay after class for detention times. And 20 points from Griffindor." he said. They now had two detentions.

"Oh, but was it ever worth it to see the look on their faces!" Sirius exclaimed as they walked out of Potions, late for lunch. They got there and saw that the girls were blushing as the people they sat with re-told the guts prank. James then sat down with his friends, and tested their food. To their surprise, it was fine. the boys began eating, and then the large but old and probably would not survive another year warning clock went off. This told students that they had 5 minutes before lunch was over. As the boys got up, they felt everyone's eyes on them. Then the school erupted with laughter. Even the teachers were laughing.

Then Melissa shouted from down the table very loudly "What, couldn't you guys make it to the bathroom?" This caused another roar of laughter. The boys looked down in horror on their seats, and saw that the seat part had been re-painted a dark brown. On the back of each chair, in gold letters, writing was appearing.

_The bathrooms are just down the hall._

_Signed, The Birds._

Then the Marauders looked down with horror at their own behinds. Dark brown paint was there, making it look like the boys had indeed missed the bathroom. All three boys went red, which was something rare from a Marauder, and left the hall, going straight to the common room. They saw the scoreboard had been magically updated.

_The Marauders:1_

_The Birds:3_

_PS. We did the chicken prank._

_Please note that this contest only lasts until twelve midnight tonight. After that, the Birds will no longer be publicly pranking._

The boys ignored the sign and cleaned themselves off. Or, at least, tried to. Lily and the others had obviously gotten a hold of some non-removable paint. So the boys had to change their robes, and by then they had were terribly late for COMC. So they ran down the halls, ignoring the sniggers of the pictures, made it passed Peaves, and raced through the grounds. The boys reached the paddock, panting, and entered.

"Well, it seems that some people have _finally_ decided to join us. Take a seat boys, and for being late you each will have an extra 3 inches on tonights essay. Now, as I was saying before Potter and his friends interrupted, the behavior of a phoenix is..."

The girls tuned him out as they started saying in loud whispers "They must have been getting on a fresh pair of robes." and the girls they were sitting with giggled.

As the girls walked back to the castle for their separate classes, they had to go near the lake. The boys were behind them, with their wands out, and started to levitate the girls ( I don't know if you can really do that, but it suits the story). The girls panicked as they neared the lake. People stared as they were dropped in, bags and all.

The boys had to admit, this prank had a double advantage. When the girls had swam back and left the cold water, their robes stuck to them. They dried themselves off, and Professor Kettleburn came up to them.

"Are you girls alright? Good. Now that water is very cold, so if you feel sick today I want you all to go straight to the Hospital Wing." and with that he turned to the Marauders.

"Tossing your girlfriends in the lake, that's just rotten! All three of you have detentions. Come to my office now to arrange times. And an extra 5 inches on your essay!" he shouted. He walked away and the Marauders followed grudgingly. By the time they got out of the Professor's grasp, they each had classes. Remus headed off to Arithmancy, and James and Sirius for Divination. Their classes were boring, and the girls had gone to the HW with cold symptoms, and returned near the end of the classes. The teacher eased up on their homework, and sent them to the Common room where the notice had been updated.

_The Marauders:2_

_The Birds:3_

_PS. Haha, we are still winning!_

The girls laughed at the score and went to their room to drop off their books. They really wished that they hadn't though, as three banana cream pies that were floating around the room saw their targets. Before they could react, each one had a face full of cream. The girls cleaned themselves off and knew that the score would be a tie now.

Melissa found out through the rumor mill that there were now bets in place as to who would win the prank-off. Most were still on the Marauders, but more and more were on the Birds.

As dinner came around, the teachers found a very nice letter on the Heads table

_To: All the teachers entering the Great Hall for supper time._

_We sincerely ask that you not get rid of the large T.V. in the Hall. As you all know, April Fools Day is normally a day when The Marauders prank everyone in sight. This year, the Marauders challenged us to a prank-off the night before. We prefer to remain annonimus. Please do not rip from the students the opportunity to embarrass the Marauders. We sincerely hope you will consider our request._

_With hope, The Birds._

As the teachers read the letter and looked at the large screen that took up an entire wall of the Hall. Many teachers had grudges on the Marauders for constantly being a neusence. So, they didn't vanish the T.V. (after the Muggle studies teacher explained what it was) and sat down.

As students flooded in, they asked for an explanation from the Muggle-borns as to what it was. Soon the whole school knew what a T.V. was, but they didn't know what it was for. Rumors were flooding faster than ever. the girls took a seat near the T.V., and everyone was so caught up in their ideas, that they didn't notice Len levitating a video tape into a VCR on the floor. Soon the Marauders came in, and were so caught up in what looked like plans, they subconsciously sat down at their regular seats. Then Dumbledore stood up, and silence fell.

"Today the teachers and I received a letter asking for the large object not to be vanished. Apparently it has something to do with a ' prank off' between two groups of students who call themselves 'The Birds' and 'The Marauders'. The Birds have asked to remain annonimus, and so they shall. Now, I believe we should see what will be so funny." He said with a smile.

The girls smiled. Then Melissa took out a quill, and Lily charmed it over and pressed the 'play' button. Immediately the Marauders tried to leave the room, though they were held back by people who wanted them to see it.

The screen showed an amateur footage, of James and Sirius in swimming trunks, dripping wet, in the middle of February. They were taking off from their brooms. The school laughed themselves silly as the two flew around and landed. The expression on their faces was priceless as they saw it had all been recorded. The recorder backed up, and a tip of Melissa's hair was shown and the screen went fuzzy as the recorder turned of the camcorder and ran.

The Marauders were still trying to escape, Remus not as much though. The students were laughing and pointing as the screen moved on.

Now, it shows the Griffindor Common room, with James and Sirius running around frantically grabbing tapes out of peoples hands. They were still in swimming trunks, and their hair was a mess. Then the two boys saw the recorder, shouted 'Traitor' and ran after the culprit. Before it all went fuzzy, it showed a shaky footage of the recorder backing up, and Len laughing herself silly at the boys. It was hard to tell it was her though, because it was so shaky. Then the screen went blank.

Now the people were bending over, clutching their ribs as the Marauders, finally free from their clutches, ran from the room. Now the people who had actually witnessed those events were starting to get an idea of who the Birds could be. No one saw Lily take the tape out and put it in her pocket. The girls finished eating lunch and went to the common room. There, the notice board had been updated.

_The Marauders:3_

_The Birds:4_

_PS. I am so glad I kept that tape, Aren't you?_

The boys were planning more pranks. The night was still young, and they had plenty of ideas. They went to the common room, hoping the girls were there. Unfortunately they weren't. They asked around and found that they had left to go to the kitchens.

When they arrived at said place, they asked the house elves if anyone had came in. The Marauders were puzzled as the small elf said that a few girls had been here a short while ago, but they had left to go to the grounds to eat. So the boys went to the grounds. There they asked the grounds keeper if the girls had been in the grounds recently. Hagrid said that some girls had gone back to the castle talking about homework and the library. When they got there, with sore feet, they asked the librarian if some girls had come in. She said that some had left a short while ago complaining loudly about forgetting their bags in the Griffindor common room. So they went to the common room, and saw the girls' roommate, Greta, sitting by the fire. They asked her about the girls' whereabouts, and she answered that they had left a few minutes ago with Len saying something about a letter. So, the boys trudged up to the owlery, and because of all the owls there, they didn't see one with solid gold talons fly out the window just as they arrived. After that they didn't have any clues, so the other two persuaded James to consult the Map. They saw the girls walking down the hall that led to the common room. So they closed the Map and trudged to the common room.

When the boys stepped on the rug, they saw the girls on the staircase, laughing enough to wake the house. Which it did. Several people poked their head out of their dorms, and saw that the boys had been stuck to the rug with a Temporary Sticking charm. The boys reversed the charm, and saw the scoreboard had been updated. The boys raced up to their dorm, and Sirius and James fetched their brooms. Remus would distract them. So he went out and called the girls down, and fortunately they all came to the top of the stairs. James and Sirius flew in and charmed the girl's toothpaste to change the colour of their teeth. They had just closed the window behind them as the girls came in. They brushed their teeth and a loud shriek was heard as Lily and Len smiled. Lily grabbed her mirror and looked into it.

" Why that little... I should dump him in the lake, you know?" Lily said as she charmed her teeth white.

"I have a better idea. Come on, we'll need some..." Len said as she led the way to the kitchens.

One hour later, there was a strange contraption outside the boy's dorm room. Then, Len shouted up "Oh BOYS! We want to discuss terms of surrender!" The room shook as she had magically magnified her voice. All three boys poked their heads out in surprise. Lily was right. Their egos would lead them to not thinking straight. All three boys were then hit with a bucket of lake water mixed with glue. Then, a bag of white feathers rained down on their heads. the boys were still standing there while the girls made clucking sounds. Everyone else who had seen laughed at the look on the Marauder's voice. The scoreboard now read:

_The Marauders:4_

_The Birds:6_

_PS. Cluck Cluck Cluck!_

_Three hours until the contest is over, and so far the Birds are winning!_

The Marauders went into their room and cleaned themselves off. After a little planning, the girls (who had been non-officially revealed as "The Birds") were the target of laughter as their hair turn orange. They tapped their heads with their wands, and saw the scoreboard go one up for the Marauders.

"Greta, what are the odds of The Birds winning the prank-off?" Melissa asked.

"Well, 56 of the students who have placed bets have one on the Birds winning. 44 are still on the Marauders. Probably their fan clubs." Greta explained.

"Hey, that's pretty good! Put 10 sickles on the Birds winning for me okay?" Melissa said.

"Sure thing. What about you two?" Greta asked.

"Five sickles on the Birds winning please." Lily added.

"I don't usually bet... but what the heck. Five sickles for me too." Len added.

"Thank you for your patronage. All proceeds go to the new joke shop in Hogsmead, Zonko's." Greta said happily as she collected the money.

"Well, we should be getting to the library. Bye Greta!" Lily said as she got up. The girls barely avoided the Marauders as they headed for North Tower. There they transformed and flew out the window.

"Okay Len, your our spy!" Melissa shouted to Len in birdian. (Like I said, I don't know if its a language, but all conversations when they are in animagus form will be in it.)

"I'm on it!" Len shouted back as she swooped down to the boy's dorm window. She made sure that she wasn't visible, and heard bits of what they said.

"One more small prank will set us on an even footing. Then all it takes is one more, and we win! Start thinking about what you want for lunch boys!" James said gleefully.

"That's assuming that they don't get us again." Remus pointed out.

"Oh why be such a spoil sport Moony? I think I'll have a nice roast sandwich..." Sirius said.

"So we just stay in here all night since our pranks are already set up and..." James was going on and on. Len took the opportunity to fly away when they all had their backs turned. She came back to the tree the others were hiding in, and reported her findings.

"It would be safest for us to stay out here until midnight Lils." Len suggested.

"Yeah right! I say you swoop in there and dump them in the lake, one by one!" Melissa added.

"Sorry Len, but I like Mel's idea better. You guys go make sure that they're window is open. Just James though. I have a feeling that I can only take one at a time, and if I go in they'll know it was me and be ready next time. Okay, let's dump'm." she said joyfully.

So Len and Melissa flew over and signaled that the window was still open. They heard a snippet of conversation.

"Prongs, where are they now?" Remus asked.

He took out the map and looked. "Oh s---"

But he didn't get time to finish his sentence, as a red phoenix flew in and grabbed James by the collar. She then hauled James out, who had already dropped the map, and flew out to the lake. Len saw that the others were staring out the window, and she hooted a greeting. But this greeting signaled that you had beter get out there. Both boys ran from the room, and the people who had stayed awake to see the victor, assumed that there had been another prank.

Out at the lake, James was attempting to negotiate.

"Come on Lily! Let me go, please?" He pleaded.

The phoenix snorted. It flew low over the lake and dumped the pleading boy into the shallow lake water. As James met the freezing water, the other Marauders had reached the lake by means of many secret passages. They couldn't help but laugh themselves silly as James came to shore, soaked and scowling. Then, a black raven came and dumped another bucket of feathers on the poor boy. The scoreboard would read:

_The Marauders:5_

_The Birds:7_

_PS. Cold enough James? I told you I'd dump you in the lake!_

And so the night continued, with the girls following Len's suggestion about staying out 'till midnight. As the girls entered the common room at quarter to twelve, they were met with a classic pie-in-the-face. The score was now 6-7. the girls turned right around and left the room. At the kitchens, they were met with their chairs turning into... pies! So now the score was tied, and midnight struck just as the girls entered the common room to play a prank. Practically everyone had stayed up to see the victor. They all cheered as midnight struck.

Sorry it took so long! And there is a nice sentimental bit coming up in the next chapie, just to warn those crazy people who don't like that stuff.


	15. Sentimental Stuff and Notices

Okay, I'm going to focus a bit more on Lily and James now, OK?

_**Ch. 15, Sentimental Stuff, and Notices.**_

After all the celebrations, Greta stood up on a box and said a little speech.

"Well, I'm sure we all know who the Birds are, but like Dumbledore said, they wish to remain unknown. Since no one had bet on a tie during the betting pools, no one wins! All proceeds go to the new joke shop Zonko's. Sorry people!" Greta announced happily. Complaints were heard throughout the room.

"Oh come on, I want my money back!" Melissa shouted.

"Sorry Mel, you know the rules. G'night everybody!" Greta shouted back as she hopped off her box.

"You gambled Mel?" Sirius asked.

"Well of course, I knew we would win, so I bet ten sickles." she responded matter of factly. She laughed at the surprised look on his face.

"These two on the other hand, can you believe that Len gambled?" Melissa said.

Remus and James looked at Len questioningly. She nodded with a sheepish smile, and sent them into fits of laughter.

"Well Remus, looks like your attitude is rubbing off on Len!" James teased, which made them both blush.

"Still, Lil got you James! Remember that day with truth or dare? She said that she'd dump you in the lake!" Len said.

"Well, I say we all get to bed. We have classes tomorrow, and we'll all be really tired. G'night girls. See you in the morning Len." Remus said, giving her hand a squeeze before he left for the stairs.

"When'd you get so sensible Moony?" Sirius said in a complaining voice.

"I've always been the sensible one Padfoot." Remus said in a voice as if he was talking to a little kid. This sent the girls into a fit of giggles. He gave Len a quick kiss and headed up the boy's dormitories. After a little discussion, Len and Melissa went to bed too. Soon after Melissa left, Sirius claimed that there was nothing left worth staying for (awww!) and went to bed too. Then James and Lily were left alone.

"It's funny, you know?" James commented.

"What do you mean?"

"Every time I wanted to go to talk to you, Sirius hauled me back and said that you might try and jynx me for prank ideas, or claimed I was a traitor." he responded with a smile.

Lily smiled too. " I missed you you know." he added.

She gave him a hug, and whispered in his ear, "I missed you too." They kept on talking about how much they missed each other, and soon James found himself with Lily's head on his shoulder, and she was fast asleep. He smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. She stirred at his touch, but didn't wake up. He thought about how beautiful she was when she slept. He then found himself thinking how nice it would be if they were to have a future together. He imagined a wonderful house, and he saw Lily and himself on a porch swing, a small, quiet baby with messy black hair in her arms.

Then he was ripped from his daydream, by Lily waking up.

"Jaaaamesss? Hello? Was I not the only one sleeping?" she said with a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Hm? No, just daydreaming." he responded with a smile.

" 'Bout what?"

" Just the future. Come on, we'd better get to bed." James helped her up off the sofa, and escorted her to the girls' staircase. He kissed her goodnight, and she left. Then he went to bed too.

0000000000000

The next morning, Lily was the first one up, not surprisingly. In third year, the other two birds voted that it was Lily's responsibility to wake them up. In fourth year, Lily quit because it was too much trouble. It took her ten minutes for goodness sake! In fifth year, they had convinced her to continue her job, and in sixth year she decided to use magic to wake them up. At the end of the sixth year, the girls announced that they preferred waking up late without time for a shower as opposed to Lily's methods. So she let them be, and got to be the first in the shower. She stepped out just as Len was waking up.

" 'Morning Lil. Say, I didn't remember you coming to bed last night, nothing happened between you and James did it?" she teased, already awake thanks to the steam from the shower.

Lily blushed. Len laughed, and Melissa was putting her pillow over her head. Len got into the shower, and came out just as Melissa was acknowledging consciousness. The two girls walked downstairs and met their boyfriends.

"Morning James, how are you?" Lily asked as she sat down on his lap.

"T-t-tired." he yawned.

"You know, I'm always the first one awake. Then James, and about an hour later, Sirius usually wakes up." Remus said, as he kissed Len.

Lily laughed. "Well, I'm always up first, then Len decides to join the conscious world, and well, Melissa still isn't up yet." They laughed.

"Come on, we better get to breakfast. Melissa and Sirius can come down when they fall out of bed." Len said, in the middle of a yawn. She and Remus went down, hand in hand, and Lily and James followed. Just as the latter of the couples rounded the corner, they found that Remus and Len weren't at the end of the long corridor.

"Where d'you suppose they went?" Lily asked.

"Probably just stepped out to be alone. Come on, we want to get to the great hall before Sirius wakes up." James said with a laugh.

Just then, Sirius came down the hall, and complained, "Prongs, why didn't you wake me up? I don't have enough time to eat now!"

However, he had obviously abandoned all else in his rush for food, because he was still in his pajama's, and his hair was in a bed-head style. People were giving him stares as they passed. He couldn't care less. So then he barged into the great hall, still PJ clad, and everybody stared at him as he sat down at the Griffindor table and started stuffing his face. Even the teachers were staring at him. James and Lily sat down a few places from him, where all food within reach was _not_ devoured. Then Melissa came into the hall, and stared at her pj-clad, stuffing his face boyfriend. Remus and Len came in after, and Remus described that they usually wake Sirius up, because when he didn't get up at the proper time, he went on a ravenous eating spree, and nothing could stop him. Then the warning bell sounded, and Melissa turned to the others.

"Just curious, but will he get to classes like this?" she asked. They were heading out the door on their way to double HofM.

"He'll go when the food disappears, usually." Remus replied.

"And one more thing. I didn't get to eat anything!"

She cheered up when Lily gave her a piece of toast.

"So, parchment everyone?" James asked.

"Only if we all know what-" Len started.

"-the goblin war crazy professor wants to teach us." Melissa said exasperatedly. Sirius came up to them and complained that they had taken the food away.

"Um, Sirius, are you going to get changed before classes or not?" Melissa said awkwardly. She was also blushing. Also, she wasn't looking at him, and you could see her eyes darting back and forth to him.

He smiled at the expression on her face. "Actually, I think I'll go around like this _all day_." he said, glancing in her direction, only to see her eyes widen, and her face blush even more. But she was saved by the group, in silent fits of laughter, entering the History of Magic classroom. They all sat down and took out their parchment and a quill, and looked like they were taking notes. (Lily, _Len_,** Melissa** , James, **Sirius, **_Remus, **All except the person who said the last sentence.)**_

**Come on guys, can't I take just a little nap for this class?**

**Yeah, can't we?**

No

_No._

_No._

No, you can't because I have something to tell you. Listen, during the summer, do you guys want to come over to my house for a few weeks? My parents are out of town, so we'll have the place all to ourselves. Who's commin'?

Sounds great.

**Always.**

**Don't have anything better to do.**

_Okay._

_I'll convince my mom to let me come. Consider me there!_

Great. How about after the first week? That's one day before my parents leave. Then, for two weeks, the house is ours!

Fine with me.

**No prob.**

**Sounds good.**

_Second week? Fine with me._

_Like I said above, I'll convince my mom to let me come._

Well, now that that's over with, I'm bored.

How about we play Questions One Reprieve?

**Huh?**

_It's like truth or dare, without the dare option. I'm in._

**Okey-dokey.**

**Why not?**

Great.

_... Okay._

_One more thing. In case something embarrassing comes up, everything admitted here is not to be used for blackmail, or any kind of profit. Also, we cant tell anybody what one of us says. Deal?_

_**Deal.**_

Okay, my idea, my turn. James, what are you scared of?

Can I use a reprieve?

Go right ahead, but this is Questions ONE REPRIEVE. As in, only one reprieve, hence the tittle.

Oh, s---. Okay, I'm scared of spiders.

Ha!

Alright, my turn. Lily, what are YOU scared of?

_Ooooh, good one James. Even we don't know what she's scared of._

Remember, nothing leaves the six of us. Okay, I'm scared of fire.

**That's what your scared of us finding out?**

Shush. Your turn Len.

_Well, I don't really know what to ask. Can you guys come back to me when I have a question?_

Okay. Remus, you're turn.

_Um... Melissa, what are you scared of?_

**What, doesn't anybody have any other idea? Fine, I'm afraid of wolves. They give me the creeps.**

**I want a turn! Melissa, when I was in my pajama's, why did you keep blushing?**

**I..er...**

**You thought I was hot, didn't you?**

_So sorry to interrupt, but Binns is coming your way Mel and Sirius._

(They both look up in surprise)

_Uh, Len, he's nowhere near them._

_Yeah, but it got them off topic didn't it?_

**Nice try Len, but he is nowhere near us. He's heading over to Lily and James' area.**

Got to go!

See you guys after class!

_Well, we should start taking notes Remus. Those two'll never pass their tests without us._

_Yeah, alright._

**So Melissa, your answer?**

**ARGH! I'm using a reprieve, and now I'm going to put this parchment away!**

(Sirius grins. They are assigned an essay and dismissed.)

" How can they expect us to study when we get all this homework!" James shouted.

"Hey, after lunch we all have a free period!" Lily said, looking at her schedule.

"Well, I'm not that hungry. I think I'll get a start on that essay. Coming Remus?" Len asked, glancing in her boyfriends direction.

"I'm there." and the two walked off.

"They sure do go to the library a lot, don't they?" Lily said, looking suspiciously in her best friend's direction.

"Oh come on, do you _really_ think their studying?" Sirius said.

They all had a good laugh, and then Melissa and Sirius headed to the great hall. James and Lily were left alone. (that's happening a lot, isn't it?)

Lily slipped her hand into his. They decided to take a walk around the lake. At the far end, James stopped and turned to Lily.

"So you can meet my parents when you come over this summer." he commented.

"Yeah. After the two weeks, maybe you'd like to meet my parents?" she agreed.

"I'd like that."

After their little discussion, they ended up kissing, and now the setting is going to move to the library.

0000000000000000

Actually, Sirius was wrong. Len and Remus were studying. But it was more like studying the librarian's shifts around the library. They had gotten sick of her walking in on them. So they decided to find the longest amount of time that she was away from their favourite place at the back of the library. They quickly bent over their half-done essays as the self-proclaimed librarian's assistant, Irene Pince, came into the room. After she sat down at a table close to theirs, they decided to go and join Melissa and Sirius in the great hall.

They didn't find them there, so they quickly ate something and headed back to the common room. They found a new notice on the board.

_To all students fourth year and above:_

_It has been decided by the headmaster that the student's moral_

_would be improved by a new event taking place in the great hall_

_on April 15, at 10:00 p.m.. This new activity will be an all-school_

_pillow fight. All participants must be wearing pajama's. We suggest_

_that you don't bring your own pillows, as un breakable ones will be _

_supplied. No wands. We suggest that ladies don't wear nightgowns, _

_as you will not be very agile in them. Muggle pajamas will suffice._

_Professor M. McGonnagle._

Remus glanced at Len. She happened to glance at him at the same time. This sent them into laughter, but they agreed that they would each attend. After the other members of the group showed up, they saw the notice, and agreed to go too.


	16. Pillow Fight

Okay, can someone tell me what they think of the story so far in comparison with any of my other stories? Anyway, on with the story!

_**Ch.16, Pillow Fight**_

Soon, it was the day of the pillow fight. The houses (Griffindor and Slytherin) had un-officially challenged each other and it was obvious. There were more and more fights breaking out between the two houses. Sirius was in the hospital wing for 3 hours one day. There was a Hogsmead day before the PF, and the girls planned on using the first part of the trip to get new pajamas. They were shopping and then they over heard part of a conversation between some women that looked like Ministry officials.

"It's terrible I heard. You-Know-Who seems to be focusing on Muggle families with magic children. 5 dead already." one women said.

"I feel so bad for those poor kids." the other said.

"And he's not stopping there. People are afraid, especially the children." the first one said mournfully. The girls didn't hear any more conversation because the two people walked off.

Melissa looked at her friends. Both had horrified expressions on their faces. Melissa herself was safe, she was pureblood. But Lily and Len were both muggle-born. Lily bit her lip, and went to the counter to pay for the new pjs she had found.

The girls left the shop, and went to The Three Broomsticks to meet the boys. They got there, and went off separately, going back at about 5:00 p.m. to get ready for the inter-school pillow fight.

In the Griffindor common room, the boys were waiting on the couches by the fire, until the girls came down. Their jaws dropped as they saw their girlfriends.

Lily was dressed in baggy, sky blue pants, and they had little clouds over them. She wore a halter-style tank-top, and it matched her pants. She had her hair done up in that sort of messy-bun style.

Len came down in a bright yellow t-shirt that showed most of her mid-section, but not her chest. She wore baggy pants that matched her top. She had done her hair in the normal braid, but then she had wrapped the braid into a bun.

Melissa came down in lavender pants, that were also baggy. She was wearing a matching, form fitting spaghetti-strap top, and it showed a bit of her stomach. She was also wearing matching slippers. The other two had bare feet.

They started laughing, and came down the stairs and closed each of their mouths. Then the boys snapped back to reality.

"You look nice Lily." James complimented.

"You look very cute Len." Remus said to her.

"Beautiful Melissa." Sirius said, giving her a kiss.

The girls smiled and kissed their boyfriends back. They made their way down to the great hall. In the hall, the tables had been moved to the sides, and there were mats layed down on the floor in case someone fell. The chairs had been removed. Dumbledore stood at the front, dressed in firetruck pjs with a matching sleeping cap. Everyone smiled as they looked at him. Once a sufficient number of Griffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins had gathered, he cleared his throat to speak. Silence fell immediately.

"Now that we're all here, I believe it is fair that we lay down the rules, for those of you that er... _forgot_ to read them thoroughly. No magic is to be used on another person, or used to jynx your pillows. If anyone is injured, the person who did the damage will be disqualified, and receive a detention. One pillow per person. You are only to hit someone with a pillow, nothing else. I believe that covers it. You may begin."

And with a wave of his wand, about a hundred pillows piled up in front of the front. People raced to grab one. They were a cilindrical shape, and dark blue. (Like those pillows on the sides of sofas) They were firm, but not hard. There was another choice of pink pillows, that were about the length of an average person's leg, and about as wide as a head. The best part was that since the birds and the marauders were very near the front, they got their choice of pillow. Lily and Len each chose the pink ones, while the others all chose the blue ones. They watched as Lily used wand ropes to bind her pillow to her arm, and did the same for Len. Now, it looked like they each had a very long and pink arm. The boys had trouble not laughing, but Lily and Len just justified that they would be better protected.

After it seemed that everybody had a pillow, the real fighting began. Lily was fending of a few Slytherins while James snuck up behind them and whacked them on the head.

Len was being hit by a small gang of Slytherins, and she was mainly using her pillow for defense. Then, her night in shinning armor came, and hit them all on the head. With a pillow. Len laughed herself silly, and gave Remus a peck on his cheek for "_saving_" her.

Melissa and Sirius were currently fighting off Sirius's family.

"What's the matter traitor? Need a girl to help you win a pillow fight?" Rodulphus sneered.

Melissa didn't know what he meant, but she wasn't going to let anyone insult her like that. With a fleet of anger, she raced up, and hit him on the face. Hard.

"Why you b----!" he shouted as she jumped back from his swing. Then Sirius laughed at his cousin.

"That all you can do Bella? Melissa hits ten times better than you!" he said as he ducked another swing. He then got her in the ribs as swung her arms up to strike again.

Soon, the teachers were staring in surprise. They had meant this to be fun for _all_ houses, as in, get them to work together. Now, it just seemed as if it was the entire school vs the Slytherins. Of course, Slytherin had started it by attacking the other houses, when they still had Griffindor to worry about. Then, Professor Dumbledore beckoned for the teachers to join in.

After the rest of the group was done with their batch of Slytherins, they proceeded to help Sirius and Melissa. Melissa sure was giving Rodulphus a beating. When Bellatrix laughed at Lily's and Len's pink pillows, they both started attacking her.

Sirius froze as a scream was heard. It wasn't one of those surprise screams, it was an im-hurt scream. He turned around and saw Melissa falling to the floor, and Rodulphus with his wand out, pillow discarded. The room froze as they heard it and Dumbledore shouted something.

Sirius raced to his girlfriends side. He checked her pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief as it was still going. She was just un-conscious. Blood poured from her arm, and the remains of the pillow were at the other end of the room.

"Melissa are you okay?" he asked her.

"Sirius, this pillow, and Melissa, were obviously victims of a reductor curse. A terrible one, but still a curse." Len said as he inspected the pillow remains.

Sirius levitated Melissa onto a stretcher conjured by Dumbledore. All five un-injured group members absolutely refused to leave their friends side until she was conscious.

Many hours later, when the pf had been cancelled, the group was waiting in the hospital wing, by Melissa's bedside. Sirius was sitting on a chair next to the bed, and Lily was on the other side. Len had conjured up a chair beside Lily. Remus and James had conjured up chairs at the foot of her bed. She was just regaining consciousness.

"Uhhh... What happened? And why does my arm hurt like h---?" she asked, groggily.

"Melissa! Are you okay?" Sirius said, as he bent over her.

"Yeah... what happened?" she asked as she sat up slowly.

"That ba----- brother of mine used a Reductor Curse on you after he found he was being beaten by a girl. By the way, you gave him a nice black eye." Sirius explained.

Melissa smiled. "I remember now. I saw him take out his wand, so I raised my pillow, and my arm, to try and knock it out of his hand."

"Well it was lucky you did, if he had hit you full on, you may not be able to move for a very long time. Now as for the rest of you, OUT!" Nurse Pomfrey shouted, as she came over with about five different potions.

The group had long since learned that arguing with her is pointless. So they left the wing, and listened to Sirius drone on about revenge plans.

"Padfoot, you do realize that that will never work?" James said for the thousandth time.

"ARGH! If only I could get a message to her!" he shouted.

Remus glanced at Len. "If only we had a really smart owl."

Len and Lily smiled. "I think I know one who is a very good spy, and could easily get a message to her." Lily said, with a spark in her eye.

"Yeah right. No owl can get through Pomfrey's security. She makes it so that letters can't get through and disrupt the patients' ." Sirius mocked.

"Sirius, meet us in the owlery in ten minutes with a note to Melissa. I know... a really smart owl." Len said with a smile. Unfortunately Sirius was being dense because of Melissa's injury. He shrugged and got out a quill and parchment. While Lily, James, Len and Remus went to the owlery.

"So Len, you _do_ know a really smart owl?" Remus asked in a teasing voice.

Len smacked him on the arm playfully. "Owww..." he said.

"Len, can I come with you?" Lily asked.

"Sorry Lily, you know my rule. When I spy, or do anything like that I prefer to be alone. That way, no one else can make me worry. Not to mention, it will look kinda strange to see a _phoenix_ flying around, opposed to an owl. Sorry Lil." Len replied as they entered the owlery.

When Sirius walked through the doors, he found a strange sight before him. His best friends were having a debate with an owl. Then he almost smacked himself. Len was going to personally deliver the letter, because she was an animagus owl.

"How come I didn't think of that?" he said in a whiny voice.

The owl gave an arrogant sounding hoot, and Lily laughed. It seemed she could understand Len, even while she was in human form. The owl had a very cute little sack, and that was where Sirius put the letter. With one last hoot, Len flew out the window.

Sirius's letter wasn't the only thing in the magically enlarged sack. There were also supplies donated by the others for any possible long term stay in the hospital wing:

A quill, ink and parchment

Chocolate frogs

Sugar quills

Sherbert balls

Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans

' 101 Pranks we did to the Slytherins' by:The Maruaders

Homework supplies (Lily's idea)

Walky-talkies (Len's idea)

A bag with an invisibility charm on it so it can hide everything from the warden (Nurse Pomfrey)

As Len flew around to the area of the castle that contained the hospital wing, she quickly soared close to the windows so that if the warden looked out, she wouldn't see her. She sighed a breath of relief as she found that Melissa had been smart enough to leave the window beside her bed open. And the curtains around her bed were drawn, perfect!

As Len flew in, she found Melissa asleep. She frowned. If she startled Melissa to much in waking her up, she would probably be startled. And that could alert the warden. So Len landed on the bedside table, and gently nudged her head. Melissa started to wake up, and was about to fall back to sleep when she saw a familiar brown owl with gold talons on her table. She smiled.

"Hi Len. So the warden wouldn't let you guys in?" she asked. The owl nodded it's head, and dropped a little sack on Melissa's chest. She opened it and smiled. Then both heard footsteps and Melissa quickly put everything in the invisible sack. It disappeared, but Len was another matter. She quickly flew up to the top of the bar that held the curtains. She hid herself among them, just as the warden came in. Melissa did a very good impression of being asleep. The warden scowled, then, to Len's horror, she closed the window. She then stepped out, and closed the curtains once again. As the door to her office closed, Len flew down, and returned to human form. With Melissa on the lookout, or more like, hear out, Len opened the window. In about 45 seconds, she had rigged it to close after she left. She gave Melissa one last hug, and transformed. Then, flew out the window, hearing it close behind her.

When she got back to the owlery, she found that her friends had locked the door, and left the window open. She reported what happened, and that's when they heard the doorknob shake. Someone was trying to get in. They all glanced at each other with worried expressions. But, Lily and Len just jumped out the window. The boys didn't worry, because they knew that they had transformed. They tossed the invisibility cloak over them, and hid in a corner.

Snubbs burst in, obviously having used an unlocking charm on the door. His assistant, Argus Filch, a Slytherin, and a squib, followed. He cursed as he saw nothing in the room, except some very restless owls. They turned around and left the room.

"Come on. If I know Lily, which I do, then she would head back to the common room." James hissed. It had been okay for seventh years to come out at the time that they had, but it was now after hours. They creeped back to the common room, and saw Lily sitting on a couch by the fire.

"Where's Len?" Remus asked immediately.

"She hit her wi-arm on her way in. She's in bed now, she is really tired. I don't blame her." Lily replied with a yawn, as James sat down beside her. Remus shrugged and announced that he was going to bed. Sirius did the same. So, Lily and James were left alone.

"You miss her, don't you." he said, while she snuggled into his arms.

"Yeah. We have never transformed without her, and now it just seems strange." Lily said.

"Don't worry, she'll be out soon. Then, after Sirius gets revenge on Rodulphus, everything will be back to normal." he said, very happy as she snuggled deeper into his arms. They fell asleep like that, wrapped up in each other.


	17. Tradgedy Strikes

WARNING: sap alert and this chapie is a little sad. By the way, there are going to be some more mature things being said from now on, so if you don't understand them, you're probably not old enough to be reading a T rated story.

_**Ch.17, Tragedy Strikes**_

After a few days of night visits, the group convinced the warden to release Melissa. Of course, Melissa made sure that she was an absolute pain. She gave the other patients candy, and as the other patients were all first years who had been trying spells, they got sugar high. She also taught them how to levitate the bed pans over to the wardens office. She also gave them several ideas from '101 Pranks for the Slytherins' by: The Marauders. Now that they were all out of the HW, they were pranking as much as the old Marauders used to. They seemed to have idolized James, Sirius and Remus, and the boys loved it. The teachers referred to them as The Junior Marauders.

Sirius got his revenge on Rodulphus by using a Permanent Sticking charm on his mouth. No matter how much he wanted to, he could not open his mouth, and had to be fed at the HW through a tube. Of course, he got a weeks worth of detentions for it, but he says it was all worth it. Melissa and Sirius had not been seen apart (aside from bathrooms) since she got out of the HW.

All the couples of the group were getting closer. Len and Remus were practically always within a few steps of each other. James and Lily kept falling asleep on the couch in each other's arms, and read the above to find out about Melissa and Sirius.

The group was on there way to charms, and got in the class. It was Friday, so they had their parchments with them.

As Professor Flitwick reviewed Protean Charms for the thousandth time, there was a knock on the door. The class looked up from snoozing to see McGonnagle had poked her head in the door. She had a grave expression.

"Sorry to disrupt Protean Charms Professor, but may I see Miss. Evans for the rest of the class?" she asked.

"Certainly, certainly. Of you go Evans." he replied.

Lily got up with a confused and worried expression. She then exited the class with Professor McGonnagle.

(I'm sick of telling you the fonts, so just look in the other chapies)

What do you suppose that was about?

_I haven't a clue. But did you see the look on McGonnagle's face? Something happened._

**I agree with Len. Something's up.**

**You are very smart Mel.**

**Thank you Sirius.**

_Stop flirting Sirius, it could be bad._

I just hope that she's okay.

As Lily walked to McGonnagle's office with her, she started to worry. It couldn't be head business, James hadn't been asked to come.

As she stepped into the office, McGonnagle turned to face her.

"A letter was received about fifteen minutes ago. It is from the Ministry of Magic." she explained as she gave Lily a black envelope.

With trembling fingers Lily opened the letter and peered inside.

_Dear Miss Evans,_

_We regretfully inform you that there has been an attack by He Who Must Not Be Named. Mr. & Mrs. Evans were killed in this attack by the Avada Kedavera curse. We can confirm however, that your sister, Miss. Petunia Evans was not in the residence at this time. We offer you our greatest regret and wishes of comfort._

_Madame Blah I-Can't-Think-of-a-Last-Name,_

_Death department, Ministry of Magic._

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After the day was over, Lily still had not come back. Rumors were flying like crazy, but the group knew that none of them were true. At five p.m., James couldn't take it anymore. He took out the Marauders Map, and found Lily to be sitting under a tree by the lake. He folded up the map, and put it away.

James decided to go to her alone. Something bad had happened, that was to obvious. As he neared the lake, he didn't see her. He consulted the map again, and found her at the other end of the lake. He walked down the lake, and saw her. What he didn't expect was to see her crying her eyes out.

"Lily! Lil, what's wrong?" James asked, very worried. Lily Evans cry? It was unheard of. Whatever had happened, was really bad.

The moment he got there, Lily flung her arms around his shoulders, and bawled her eyes out again. James couldn't get any words out of her, she was crying too much. He then saw, laying on the grass, a letter sticking out of a black envelope. He looked at the envelope in horror. Everybody from wizarding families knew what this was. It was a Ministry Death Notice. In gold letters, was _Lily Evans._

"Oh Lily, I'm so sorry." James said, and pulled her closer to him.

"T-their dead." she whispered.

"Shhh shh. It's okay Lily." James comforted, with her still in his arms. They stayed there for a few minutes, then Lily spoke up again.

"My mum and dad. Their d-d-dead."

"I'm so sorry Lil. Just cry, you might feel a bit better." he replied. She did just that.

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About an hour later, the rest of the group was getting antsy. James had left, taken the Marauders Map, and not told them where he was going.

"That's it. I'm going to the owlery. Anyone coming?" Len announced as she stood up. The group all stood up immediately, knowing that that was where Len preferred to transform when going to spy. When they got there, Melissa insisted on going with her. Len obviously wasn't in the mood to argue, because she transformed and left.

The two birds flew around for a few minutes, then sighted what they wanted to see. Lily. They didn't want to fly too close, because she was with James. They returned to the owlery, and reported where they were.

As the other group members neared the spot, they froze. Lily was crying. Len and Melissa had only ever seen her cry once before, and she wasn't bawling like this time. Only in third year, when they asked her who had died. Now, she was crying like she had never cried before, on James' shoulder.

"Lil! What's wrong?" Len asked, hurrying to her friends' side. But as the other three neared, they saw the black envelope. Melissa gasped. Sirius and Remus stared. Of course, as a muggle born, Len didn't have the slightest clue what the envelope meant.

"Len, their dead. Both of them... dead." Lily said, very softly.

Len looked at James for a clue. He mouthed 'parents' at her. the rest of the evening was spent comforting the three girls, since Len and Melissa had known them very well.

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Over the next few days, Lily seemed very depressed. It was a rarer occasion to see her smile than Professor McGonnagle. She forgot about homework, and spent her evening either crying on James's shoulder, or looking at old photo albums, then crying. She somehow found a way to associate everything with her parents. Mashed potatoes at dinner used to be her dad's favourite. At breakfast, her mom usually had oatmeal. After a few days, McGonnagle came up to her, and told her when the funeral was, and that she would be given the day off. She could also bring someone. There was no doubt in her mind, James would come with her.

Lily's heart swelled at the thought of how much James had done to try and make her feel better. He had worked doubly hard at head's meetings, and tried to take as much work off her shoulders as possible. He took her patrolling shifts. He was there for her whenever she wanted to cry, which was often. Then, she realized that she had fallen in love with him.

As she entered the common room, she saw him sitting by the fire.

"James?"

He looked up. "Lily? You alright?"

She sat down beside him. "Yeah. I was just told that the funeral is this Thursday. I can take one person. Can you come with me?" she asked.

He hugged her. "You know I would do anything for you." he said, and he gave her a kiss on the lips.

"I know. You chased me for four years, remember?" she said, with a smile.

James smiled too. It was so nice to see her smile. The two stayed up, discussing Lily's family. It was pretty small, since her mother was an only child, and her father had been aswell.

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The day of the funeral, Lily and James dressed in black muggle clothing, and went to Dumbledore's office, where they would Floo to Lily's house, where Floo lines had been temporarily placed. There, Lily gave James a tour of her small house. They had stopped, or more like started, when a shriek was heard.

"Freak! Are you here or not?" Petunia called up.

James looked on as Lily sighed and shouted back "Yes, I'm here, and don't call me that!"

"Make sure the kitchen is clean! Grandpa will be here any minute, a _normal_ way." Petunia shouted at Lily, not even looking in her sister's direction as she came down the stairs.

James was surprised. Her family didn't like magic? Or was it just this person?

"Lily, who is that?" he asked.

Petunia whipped around at the sound of another voice.

Lily sighed again. "James, it is your misfortune to meet my _gorgeous_ sister, Petunia. Petunia, this is my boyfriend James."

Petunia spotted the wand in James's pocket. She snorted, and with a "Well, freaks belong with freaks." started to walk up the stairs.

"You let her get away with that?" James asked, astounded.

"My parents wouldn'tve wanted us to fight. I decided that by the end of today, I will no longer see her again, so I'm going to tell her that we shouldn't fight anymore. Come on, the rest of my family will be here any minute. You can meet them. They actually like magic." Lily explained, as she used her wand to clean the kitchen.

James did like Lily's grandparents, and found out that her maternal grandmother had died when she was thirteen. Lily had been with her, and he knew that that was why she could see Thresals.

During the service, James saw that Lily had tears running down her face. He grabbed her hand, and squeezed it. When everyone had gone, Lily left him and went to see Petunia. He could barely hear what she said.

"Petunia, let's get one thing straight. Mum and Dad wouldn'tve wanted us to fight, so what do you say we call a truce?" Lily said quickly, as she extended her hand.

"As long as I don't have to have the bad luck of seeing you again." she replied, and didn't shake Lily's hand, but just walked off. Lily came back to James, and explained what happened.

Before she left, when everyone had left, she took out her wand and muttered a little spell. A single flower appeared in her hand, a lily. She took it, and put it on top of her parent's shared grave. After that, she walked off with James to her house.

When they got back to the school, they found that absolutely nothing had changed. Len and Remus were studying and flirting at the same time, and Sirius and Melissa had disappeared for over an hour. The usual. And for the first time in days, Lily went to bed happy.

I was thinking of ending the chapie here, but I decided I wouldn't be that cruel. I mean, I already killed off Lily's parents in this chapie, why make it short? I also just realized that there are no disclaimers in any of the other chapies. So, here is the all-story disclaimer: not mine. Impressive, huh? Back to the story!

Many weeks later, NEWTs were coming up. Even Sirius studied. Lily and Len were quizzing each other in the girls dorms, when Melissa came through, very excited.

"Guys guess what?" she shrieked a few times.

"What?" Len asked.

"Uh uh, you have to guess first!" she said giddily. (I'm not sure if that's a word...)

"Uhhh... you did something smart?" Lily guessed. Ever since she had gotten closure from her parents, Lily had been much more cheerful.

Melissa scowled. "_No,_ you all know that Sirius is getting his own house this summer, right? Well, he just asked me to move in with him!"

Both girls shrieked. Of course, it was heard loud and clear downstairs, where Sirius had just explained what he had asked. The boys headed down to the kitchen, to celebrate.

"So, I take it you said yes?" Len asked.

"_No, I'm just excited because I turned him down._ Of course I said yes!" Melissa said, with a very sarcastic first sentence.

"Good for you! Oh, and don't forget the probably-going-to-be-used-most piece of furniture!" Lily said, with an evil grin.

"Uhhh, a chair?" Melissa asked worriedly. They only acted like this when teasing.

Both Lily and Len were laughing their guts out by now. "She meant, the _bed_." Len explained.

Melissa blushed. Which only sent the girls into another fit of giggles. Melissa spent the rest of the afternoon chasing her best friends throughout the castle. Then she met up with Sirius, gave up hunting her friends, and they both disappeared for about half an hour.

Okay, now it's really the end of the chapie. R&R, please!


	18. Invites and Preparations

Thank you reviewers! Note: (this will be repeated every chapie) There are going to be some more mature things being said from now on, so if you don't understand them, you're probably not old enough to be reading a T rated story.

_**Ch.18, Invites and Preparations**_

The days passed by slowly with the exams. Soon, they were over. There was a Hogsmead day planned the day after exams. The Marauders were holding a large party (with the permission of Madame Rosemerta of course) in the Three Broomsticks. Everyone but the Slytherins planned on coming.

The morning before the party, Remus took Len aside when they were walking by the lake.

"Len, I'm not sure if you know, but Sirius isn't the only one who bought a place to live. I just got an apartment in Hogsmead, I was wondering if you would like to move in with me?" he asked, stuttering every once in a while.

He got his answer.

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A few hours before the party, Lily and Melissa were frantically searching for Len. She hadn't gotten ready yet, and she had agreed to let them do her hair. They were both dressed, but they were worried about what she would wear. It was tradition for Melissa to help the girls with things like that, but ever since Lily had started to care what James thought of her, she got in on it.

The two were debating where she could be when she walked quite calmly into the dorms. They both stared as she greeted them, and opened her small closet and took out some clothes.

"Len, where have you been? We searched everywhere for you!" Lily shouted.

"No need to get upset Lily, I was with Remus." she replied.

"And the party is in what... an hour?" Melissa said.

"Well, if you two want to know so badly, I was going to tell you anyway..." Len teased.

Melissa knew her tone of voice, but Lily didn't. "What, you didn't do _it_ did you?" she asked.

"NO! Of course not. He asked me to move in with him. And I, of course, excepted." she explained.

Both girls shrieked. Again. Then, the girls spent the rest of the time before the party helping Len with her clothing decision. In other words, Melissa tossed things in a 'no way' pile, while Lily fished them out and put them in a 'good' pile. But then Len convinced them to let her decide what she should wear.

As the girls walked down to meet the boys, the Marauders were to involved lecturing note-taking Junior Marauders to notice that their girlfriends had come down. The girls sneaked up behind the boys, and then put their hands over their eyes.

"Okay Zach, Cody and Rob, class dismissed." James said as he turned to face his girlfriend.

Each girl was wearing muggle clothing. Lily was wearing LEVI jeans, with a form-fitting emerald green t-shirt. Len was wearing NEVADA bellbotoms, and a loose white t-shirt. Melissa was wearing LEVI bellbotoms, with a blue shirt.

Len went over to Remus and gave him a peck on the cheek. He then took her hand, and they walked over to the portrait hole. Sirius and Melissa had already left. James and Lily were walking slowly down to the village, they found that the others had waited for the party to start until they got there. Then the Marauders climbed up on the bar/counter and announced that the party may now begin. Music started playing, and people lined up to get drinks. The only reason that Madame Rosemerta had allowed the party was because she would most likely get plenty of customers. And she did. Remus came back with an iced tea for Len, James had gotten Lily a butterbeer, just as Sirius had gotten Melissa one.

After dancing for a while, Remus asked if Len would like to see the apartment. It was in Hogsmead after all, and not to far from the Three Broomsticks. Len agreed, and Remus led her to a wonderful neighborhood, and there was a small 5 story apartment building near the end of it.

As he opened the door to the 3 bedroom apartment, and Len gasped. She got the full tour of the large apartment, starting with the empty kitchen. Len would have her own bedroom. But Len secretly decided that that would not be for long.

They made their way back to the party, they found it was almost 7pm. That was bad, as all students were expected back in the school by 7:15. It took 20 minutes to get back. They just approached as the other Marauders came out.

"Moony! Moony's girlfriend! Where have you been?" Sirius asked. Melissa mouthed ' chocolate frog eating contest'. He was sugar high.

"Remus was just showing his appartment." Len explained.

"_Our_ appartment Len. Your going to live there too." Remus said with a smile.

"Right."

James and Sirius stared at him. Well, Sirius did as much as he could.

"You asked her to move in with you and you didn't tell us?" James asked.

"I was just about to, but then the Junior Marauders asked for lessons. I didn't think it would be a good idea, in front of eleven-year olds." he explained. The group then jogged to Hogwarts, getting Len to make up a lie on the way.

"And just where, have you been? Your five minutes late!" Snubbs shouted.

"Sorry we're late sir. As you know, there was a party at The Three Broomsticks, and after the place was quite a mess. We offered to stay back and help clean up, and we did. But then we realized the time and had to leave. She was quite angry, and tried to convince us to stay and clean. But we insisted that we had to go." Len said.

"So if I call Madame Rosemerta and ask her about your story, she will confirm it?" he asked with an evil grin.

They hadn't counted on this, but Len could make up lies on the spot. "Yes sir. But I wouldn't call her right now, she was pretty angry at the mess, which I'm sure such a responsible caretaker can understand." she lied.

The flattery worked. He told them to get a move on, there were still late students. The moment they were out of earshot, the group burst out laughing.

"You called his bluff, and he fell for it!" Remus said.

"I know! That was one of my best lies yet!" Len replied.

"Okay, quick, let's get him back to the common room before he hurts someone." James said, pointing his thumb at Sirius, who was currently experimenting with putting a speed charm on himself, then bouncing up and down. They got him back to the common room, and the girls waited downstairs while the boys convinced Sirius that his head did not go through the sleeve in his pajamas. When they finally came back down, the girls challenged the boys to an exploding snap tournament.

"Ha! We'll totally slaughter you!" James announced.

"But there's only two of us and three of you!" Remus said.

"So? If your really going to _slaughter_ us at it, it shouldn't matter whether we have one more person than you." Len said, but Remus recognized the tone of voice. She was either going to make them play with one less person, giving them the advantage. Or, they were going to have the boys admit that the girls were a challenge for them. She was good.

So the boys still played, and it ended up that the girls won. So the boys had to admit that they weren't better at Exploding Snap. The girls went to bed very satisfied.

The next day, it was officially three days of school left.

All the group members found themselves alone a lot, walking around the castle. James and Lily spent every night on little dates on the very top of the Astronomy tower. Remus and Len spent their days walking around the lake. Sirius and Melissa were seen all over the place, but mostly in the kitchens. Classes had been cancelled for seventh years, to give them a chance to say goodbye.

The day of the last day, everyone was packed. Len would officially move in with Remus after he met her parents, and after they stayed at James'. It would be around August. Melissa was going to do the same thing with Sirius. They were sitting at breakfast in the great hall when the post arrived. A ministry owl dropped a letter in Len's lap, but everyone was relieved to see that the envelope wasn't black.

_Dear Miss Candel,_

_It is our great pleasure to inform you that you have been excepted into our two year training program. Due to complications, it will begin not on the 15th of July, but the fifth of August. After you complete this program, you will be allowed to teach at any school willing to except you. However, the enclosed form will show which classes you will be taught to teach. You may pick two. We expect your response by the first of August._

_Madame Green, _

_Department for the Development for Future Generations,_

_Ministry of Magic._

Len looked happily at the letter. They all read it over her shoulder, and congratulated her.

"This calls for a celebration. I've always wanted to do this, but Moony here always talked us out of it." James said, as he took a bowl of oatmeal in his hands and tossed it at Snape with a shout of "Food Fight!"

The hall stared for a second before grabbing the nearest, sloppiest food they could find. Lily and Len both shrieked, before deciding that there was no reason that they shouldn't join. Griffindor had already won the cup at the feast last night, and they only had 'till three p.m. until the train left. So, Lily charmed a jar of jam to fly around and refill itself. After it dumped jam on people's heads of course. Lily looked over her shoulder to see Len crushing bananas in a bowl. (has anyone ever had mashed bananas? I have...) She ended up with yellow goo. She stirred some milk in, and ended up with runny yellow goo. The group watched, then put shield charms above them as Len levitated the bowl up to the chandelier, then used a tricky spell that Lily had taught her to make the bowl have a sprinkler effect on the hall. Everyone was covered in banana mush.

Melissa then came back from the kitchens, where she had gone to get something. She advised her friends to put on shield charms and bubblehead charms. She used her wand, and made spaghetti. She told them it was her mother's recipe. Then she used the same sort of sprinkler charm that Len had, and everyone was covered in stinky, sloppy noodles, and sauce.

"Melissa, remind me to do the cooking." Sirius joked, while moving his hand in front of his face. She laughed and repeated that it was her mother's recipe.

The teachers were still staring. Just as they had before the fight started. Not to mention that the top most well behaved two students had caused most of the mess with jam and bananas. That was something that the Marauders would do. But then Professor Slughorn was hit by Sirius with a large amount of the spaghetti. The teachers looked to Dumbledore to stop it, but he was just watching with a twinkle in his eye.

The group was making the best mixture yet. They were under a table, with a large bowl that was about a meter in diameter. They used oatmeal, jam, bananas, spaghetti, eggs and something Sirius found and didn't want to identify. Then, James added something from a small vial into the mix, and it turned a bubbly green, and stank even more. But the group didn't know this, because they had used bubble head charms. They put on shield charms, and then Lily and Len worked together to levitate it to the roof. Then Lily used the sprinkler charm on it, and loud shouts were heard as people were sprayed with something that smelt vaguely like skunk. But James had made sure that he saved a small cup of it, just in case they ever needed it.

After a half an hour, people started leaving to get changed and have a shower. Lily, James, Remus, and Len used the prefects bathroom, which was much less crowded than the ones in the dorms. And James gave Sirius the password so that Melissa and Sirius could use it too.

They all split up after their showers, and the Marauders had subconsciously gathered by the lake. They laughed themselves silly at the sight of a phoenix, owl and raven playing around just above the lake. Then they flew up to a tree, and started talking. James didn't like the way that they kept looking over at them. Remus and Sirius started laughing their heads off as Lily in animagus form came over to James. He started to run and it was a very strange sight. James was running frantically away from a phoenix, which was chasing him.

Unfortunately for him, Len had her trusty camcorder with her, and was following Lily, recording everything. Len was still flying, the handle of the recorder in her talons. She got an excellent tape, and it included when Lily caught up to James and then flew over to the lake with him. She then dropped him, which caused spectators to roll on the ground with laughter. James Potter, beaten by a bird!

As James surfaced, Sirius mentioned sarcastically how smart that owl was to have gotten it all on tape. James went bright red, and saw Len hovering just above him, still recording. It would be quite amusing to watch James jumping up and down, trying to reach an owl. Who was flying just above his head at all times, and still recording. Then James got smart, and summoned his broom. Len was frantically flying off, and had gotten a head start. She was in a tree with Lily, and gave her the camcorder. It was too much weight for her. She just took the tape, while Lily had the recorder. Len flew off, and Melissa blocked James broom for her. James swore as Len reached the girls' dorms, and went inside.

Later that day, the girls realized that nearly everybody was in the grounds. They went outside in human form, with the tape safely inside Len's pocket. Melissa conjured up a large movie screen, and a VCR. Lily levitated them up in the air, and watched as James looked horrified at the screen. Most of the school knew that this meant more embarrassing moments for the Marauders. Len levitated the tape up to the VCR, and put it in. In white letters across the black screen, a title flashed.

_**Most Embarrassing Moments for The Marauders.**_

_Edited for the viewing pleasure of those who missed the last installment._

_By: The Birds_

Carnival music played as the girls had put all the year's tapes into one. It showed the incident with the dare, James and Sirius running around the common room in swimming trunks and grabbing tapes out of people's hands, and every other time Len had gotten something embarrassing on tape. There were none of Remus, which just showed that he didn't get himself into such situations. The school roared with laughter, and soon teachers came out into the grounds to see what all the noise was about. Rumor has it that even McGonnagle was seen wiping tears out of her eyes for laughing so hard.

Since the girls had conjured up the screen in daylight, everyone knew exactly who the birds were. They were heaped with praise on their work, and it seemed that James and Sirius had left. Remus was rolling on the ground where the Marauders had all gathered, and he was laughing like crazy.

All to soon the time to board the train came around. Everyone was planning to meet their partner's family in the week before going to James'. The group was having a wonderful time, but James noticed that Lily was a little downcast.

"Lil, can I talk to you for a moment outside?" James asked, gesturing towards the door.

As they got out, Lily turned to face James.

"I'm not sure if you know Lily, but I'm getting my own house. It'll be ready July 30. I was wondering if you'd like to come and live with me there?" he asked confidently.

She flung her arms around him. "I would love to James." The reason she had been downcast was because she would not be going back to her house, since Petunia had inherited it. She planned on staying at The Leaky cauldron until something came up. Now she was going to live with James. She would only have to stay in that musty old place until the house was ready.

When they got back to the compartment, they explained what had happened. Len and Melissa both shrieked, and Sirius called for food. The girls spent the rest of the day talking about how nice it would be that they would all be living with their boyfriends. Sirius and James spent the time eating, and Remus reading.

When they got out, they met up with their parents. Remus met Len's parents and vice versa. Sirius met Melissa's parents, though she didn't meet his. Lily met James' parents, and then explained that she was going over quick to her old house to pick up the last of her things.

Lily did this very quickly, and luckily Petunia and her boyfriend, Vernon, were out of the house. She took her stuff, and since she couldn't apparate with it, she called the night bus. She rode to the Leaky cauldron, and waited until it was time to go to James'.

Okay, I'm so sorry that this took so long. We have two computers at my house, and we don't have a router yet. He was using the internet, so I couldn't post anything. Please review!


	19. Potter Manor

So sorry it's taking so long for me to upload chapies. Read the end of ch.18 for details.There are going to be some more mature things being said from now on, so if you don't understand them, you're probably not old enough to be reading a T rated story.

_**Ch.19, Potter Manor**_

(I'm going to try and draw a diagram of James' place)

(Darn. Wont upload this way.)

Finaly, it was time to go and stay at James's place. He popped into Lily's small room at the Leaky cauldron, twenty minutes early. She was just getting out of the shower.

"AAAHHH! JAMES GET OUT OF HERE!" she shrieked, as she was only in a towel. James left the room, smiling. twenty minutes later, she came out, with a bag odviously full of stuff she'd need for the two weeks.

"Next time James, come on time? Not when I'm in the shower." she scolded.

"Awww, come on? If we'll be living together-"

"I will make sure that your on where near the bathroom when I'm in it." she finished for him, even though he didn't plan on saying that.

He sighed in defeat. "Right. Shall we go? My parents are anxious to see you again." he said with a smile.

"Sure."

As they both popped into the manor, Lily was immeadiatly greeted by James' family. His was about the same size as Len's people wize, but instead of cousins, he had brothers and sisters. 3 younger brothers, and quintuplet girls. He was the eldest, and the second oldest was just starting Hogwarts next year. After the introductions, the fire started up. Melissa tumbled through, folowed by Sirius who purposly fell on her. After another half hour of introductions for Melissa's benifit, Two more pops were heard as the final members of the group arrived. Half an hour later, all introductions were _finaly_ over, the girls were given the one hour tour of the Potter Manor. All of them were amazed by the size of it. There was a quiditch field out in the back. After the tour, the group met up in the living room to say goodbye to James' parents.

"Now remember James, _no parties._ You may be getting your own house soon, but while your still here, you follow our rules." his mother warned.

Just as James was about to open his mouth, his father added "And the sleeping arrangements have already been made. You boys will sleep in the east end, and the girls in the west. When we come back, we'll ask the house elves if something had happened."

James snapped his fingers in mock frusteration. His parents smiled, then with a final 'goodbye' popped out.

Melissa whistled. "Strict."

"Yeah, but you won't find nicer people anywhere." Sirius siad.

"Well, what do you say we show the girls thier rooms?" James said, and with a mock bow, showed them the door that led to the west end.

Each girl had sepparate rooms. They were all the same, large, and with red hangings. There was a large, queen-sized four poster bed in the midle. There was a large closet for each of them, and a screen window that led out to a small balconey. There was a table opposite the bed, and beside it, was a cabnet full of parchment and ink.

"You know, I wish we had the west end." Sirius commented.

"Why?" Melissa asked.

" 'Cause every morning _we_ get the sun blaring in our eyes." he replied.

"Yeah, while we can sleep in-" Lily teased.

"Have a wonderful view at night-" Len also teased.

"Hey, so will we! We just need a telescope, and your room is just across the entrance field from mine Mel!" Sirius siad, grinning. But everyone was to caught up in their teasing that they didn't notice that Lily and James had dissapeared.

"Lil, the ready date for the house has been booted up. It'll be ready for us to move in right after the two weeks!" James said happily.

"James, that's great! What's it going ot look like?"

James spent the rest of the day telling Lily about what the house was going to look like, when a loud shout was heard from the direction of the others. Lily looked startled, but James just said calmly "Sirius has just been told dinner's ready. My family's house-elf, Tot, is an excelent cook." he explained, chuckling.

So the two walked off, and Lily learned that most things in the house (EX: dinning area, common room, pool), were in the north end. The group ate dinner, and apparently James had mentioned to Tot that Len was a vegetarian.

After dinner, the group all went to bed early, the boys insisted on it, because they would be woken up at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

The next day, the boys were indeed up at the crack of dawn. They decided that they were bored and so, the girls were going to be up at the crack of dawn aswel. Since Tot had used a sealing charm on thier doors, the boys resorted to the small balconies that each girl had. They took buckets of water, and levitated them up. They magically opened the door, and guessed where the girls' beds were. Shrieks were heard, and each girl came out to the balconey after the initial shock had worn off. James looked very happy as Lily came out, with wet clothes, and she just happened to be wearing a white nightgown. She stormed back in, blushing furiously. James was almost jealous of Remus, because Len was wearing a bage nightgown (and for those of you that don't know, bage is very close to white.) and pretending that he wasn't staring at her, and was rambling on about how rude it was. But she stopped, when Melissa shouted from across Lily's room (they are both on either side of Lily, just like in Hogwarts.) "Len, stop modeling, and get back in your room!" This made Len go dark red, and she went back to her room.

"Remus, you are one lucky guy. Not only is Len _not_ going to kill you, she stayed out and let you see her with her clothes soaked, and sticking to her body!" Sirius said.

Meanwhile, Melissa was talking to Lily about Len's little escapade, in the small, west end common room.

"I've never seen her act like that before! She just stood there, soaked, and rambled on about how rude ithad been for him to wake her up!" Melissa ranted.

Just then, Len walked into the room, with clean and dry clothes.

"Please tell me Len, _why_ were you modeling out there for Remus?" Lily asked in a scolding voice.

Len blushed. "I wasn't _modeling_, just making sure he knew how rude it was-"

"You haven't done anything we don't know about, have you missy?" Melissa asked in a scolding voice.

"NO! You guys now that if we did something like _that_, I would tell you! Fine, I was modeling, but that doesn't mean anything has happened!" Len replied.

The girls eyed her for a moment, then, in a teasing voice, Melissa added, "But, of course that doesn't mean that she doesn't _wan't_ anything to happen, does it?" she said to Lily.

"No, it doesn't." Lily teased in the same tone.

Len blushed, then mumbled something about getting some breakfast, and left the room. The moment she left, Lily and Melissa started laughing themselves silly.

The group met up around the pool, though (after a lot of argument fomr the girls) they weren't going to swim. They were sicussing what they wanted to do for a living, when the quintuplets came out to the pool.

They were all identical. Mary, Holly, Polly, Annie, and Sally had shoulder length (for 6 year olds) messy 'Potter' hair, and a scatering of freckles. They normally dressed the same, and were so alike that no one could tell them apart. They made their only difference in their preference of socks. Mary liked ones with lace around the ankles, and so did Annie. But Annie only wore pink frilly socks. Polly liked pink socks aswel, but she hated frills. Holly only ever wore white socks, and it depended on her mood as to wether or not they were frilly. Sally wore white socks, and they were normaly so short you could see her ankle bone.

"What do you say we pick them up, and drop them in the pool?" James asked to Sirius and Remus. They both nodded vigorously, but then Len spoke up.

"You can't do that! What did they ever do to you?" she asked, amazed that Remus would do such a thing.

"Once you get to know them Len, you'll understand. They are the most anoying girls on the face of this planet." Remus explained.

"It is quite odvious that my amazing pranking skill is genetic, 'cause their almost better than us!" James siad.

Sirius smiled. "Yeah. One summer they stole into James' room, and took some of-"

"Padfoot!"

"And they took some of his underwear. The next morning, pairs of underwear were found everywhere! They even snuck one into James' soup!" Sirius said, doubled over with laughter.

Lily couldn't resist laughing her head off at her blushing boyfriend. Then, they heard movment behind them, and saw that while they were talking, the quintuplets had rigged something up to push the group into the lake. It was a giant slingshot. It was reliesed, and everyone fell in. They all got out of the pool, and saw the quintuplets laughing thier heads off. The girls all glanced at each other, and unspokedly decidecd something.

000000000 Later That Night0000000000(after dinner)

The boys had all gone off somewhere, and so the girls were left with the quintuplets.

"Girls, we have a proposition for you." Len said, talking to the quintuplets.

"Yeah, like what?" the first one asked.

"We both want to prank James and Sirius, right?" Len added.

"Yeah..." the third one chimed.

Lily took something out of her pocket and explained what it was. The girls' faces lit up, and they excepted the girls' offer. In exchange for 'the item' the birds would not be a victim of any pranks pulled by the quintuplets. The girls shook on it, and went off to bed. Tomorrow would be interesting.

Indeed it was. The night before, Lily had also explained how to use 'the item'. So, when the girls were asleep, in black nightgowns, a large blare was heard. The girls went out to thier balconeys, and looked at the large, movie screen in the entrance field. The boys looked on in horror, as the quintuplets put the tape in the VCR.

The quintuplets were holding their ribs as they laughed at the sight of thier brother and one of his best friends running around, in swimming trunks, and grabbing tapes out of other people's hands. They were rolling on teh floor by the end of the tape. But they made a fatal mistake. They left the VCR unguarded, and James used magic to retrieve the tape. He then destroyed it with the Reductor curse.

"Don't worry boys, I have plenty of copies! And these ones work!" Len shouted, holding up a small stack of tapes. She seemed to let them be summoned out of her hand.

"Oh please, do you really think I would show you the only tapes? I have about a hundred right here." she siad, and pulled up a large sack. It to was summoned, except that it wasn't tapes. It was rocks.

"So Len, you want to go swimming today?" Remus shouted up.

"Sounds great. I'll be there after breakfast!" she shouted back, then left to her room.

Lily shook her head. If Len wanted to model for Remus again, this would be the perfect opportunity to do it.

But she didn't. In fact, she was the only bird who wasn't wearing a bikini. She was in a one-peice yellow bathing suit. Lily was in the same bikini she had worn at the dare event. Melissa was in a black, revealing bikini.

The boys stared at thier girlfriends. Lily, for once, let James get a good look before she entered the water. Melissa and Sirius were already playing in the water. So were Len and Remus, but Remus was staring at her more than playing with the rest.

Short chapie, I know. R&R!


	20. Hide and Seek

_**Ch.20, Hide and Seek**_

After a while, the group got bored of splashing each other. So they made a game. It was sort of like hide and seek, but not only one person was it. The girls would run off and hide, while the boys counted to one hundred. When the boys found the girls, they would have to dump them in the pool. But, if the girls got to the safe point, which was box of pool toys for the quintuplets, they would win. If all three girls were in the pool at the same time, the boys won. As soon as the boys started counting, the girls turned to Melissa for a strategy.

"Okay, here's what we do. Lily, your the most recognizable animagus, so you show yourself near the west common room. Be sure you've transformed. That will make them think that we've all transformed. Don't be human Lil. Len and I will go to the north common room, and hide there. Hopefully you can distract two of them. (Lily runs off) 'Kay, Len you go to the North end, but not the common room. There is a small wooded area just outside, and it didn't seem to have any other animals. (Len opens her mouth to ask something) And the reason we're not telling Lil the new plan is because if they get a hold of her, they might tickle her for info. You know how ticklish she is. (81...82...83) GO!"

Len ran off, and saw Melissa running with her until she crossed the common room. There was no sign of her, then Len saw a few stuffed ravens over the fireplace. One had black talons.

Lily got to the west and transformed. She knew the boys would be done counting by now, and probably making a strategy. She flew out the window, and saw that James and Sirius had got out thier brooms. She grinned. Melissa was right in assuming that the boys would assume that they had transformed. Then James spotted her, and called to Sirius.

"I see Lily! I'd bet anything the others have transformed! You go find Melissa and Len!"

Lily thought. Normally they would send Remus after Len. They must have done the smart thing and left him as a guard. She flew away, giving James a run for his money. She was pretty fast, and though his broom was the best onthe market, the market was just as fast as her. She did have a dissadvantage. She used energy to fly, he didn't. She decided to fly in the window, and return to human form. Then, she would run for it.

Sirius was having trouble finding Melissa. He then smacked himself. Lily wouldn't let herself be shown like that. Mel was a good strategist, and he realized that he was on a wild goose chase. Mel and Len wanted them to believe that they had all transformed. He landed, and went on on foot.

He entered the North wing, and decided to search it. He checked the dinning room, the area around the pool, and the common room. He sat down, thinking where they could be. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move. He glanced without moving his head, and saw a few stuffed ravens. I must be imagining things, he thought. He wasabout to move onto the next room, when he saw that one of the ravens had black talons. When Melissa saw he recognized her, she cawed, and flew out the open screen door, out into the small wooded area. He followed. He heard another caw, and she showed herself above the trees. Sirius summoned his broom and went after her.

Len could understand Melissa's last message. When he passes her, she was to run for the room. Since her bathing suit (the girls had stayed in bathing siuts in case they got tossed in the pool) was yellow, she blended in perfectly with a patch of flowers. Her hair almost gave her away, but Sirius was to set on getting to Mel. While he was distracted, Len surprised herself with how quietly she crept away.

She ran lightly to the pool room, and saw her last chalenge. Remus was sitting on a lawn chair, beside the box of toys. She quietly ran to the girls' changerooms, wondering how to get past him. But no matter how quiet she tried to be, her bare feet padded on the wet tile. And he had heard it. Oh great, she thought, he's alert now. She then got an idea she labeled 'genius' and got her camcorder. She played back the short tape she had there, and found a part where she sneezed. She turned off visual, and turned up audio.

She lightly ran again to the large box opposite the one that they were supposd to be going to. She placed her camcorder down there, and set a timed release. It gave her just enough time to get to the area closest to the box.

The second she reached her destination, the sound of her sneezing rang through the echoing pool room.

"Len? Is that you?" Remus called. He didn't really expect an answer, but he went over to check behind the large box anyway. He cursed as he saw her camcorder there. He turned around to see Len waving at him, one hand on the box.

Lily was running out of energy. She was human now, and was lightly running across the dinning room. She had a stitch in her side from running so much, and she decided to use the lamest hiding place in the world until she had her energy back. She sat underneath the table, lucky about the floor-raching table cloth. There, she rested.

Lily held her breath as she saw the siloueted form of James entering the room. Then, it dissapeared, and she thought he had just glanced around. She cried in surprise as arms closed around her waist, and lifted her from under the table, and up on his shoulder.

Lily tried to get away, but seekers tended to have strong arms. As James dumped her in hte pool, with Len 'boo' ing, and Remus cheering.

"How did she get passed you Remus?" James shouted, from his position beside the pool.

"She used a very smart plan of setting her camcorder on a timed reliease. It distracted me, because she had placed it on the other side of the room. While I was making sure it wasn't actually her, she ran to the box." Remus explained, looking to Len, who was smiling and sitting on the box.

"So, now it depends on if Melissa gets caught or not. If she does, you guys win. If she gets past you, we win." Lily said, as she came up from the water. James offered a hand to help her, and realized his mistake to late. She yanked him in, and he fell in.

"Ha! Your in the pool now, you can't leave!" Lily teased. James cursed, then resorted to tickling her.

Sirius was flying after Melissa, who was just faster than him. Of course, a broom wasn't really made for flying in between trees, and that's why she was faster than him. She then flew around a very large tree a few times, and he followed. He got dizzy enough to realize that she wasn't there anymore. He saw the door to the east wing close.

Melissa had returned to human form because her wings were getting sore. But she had chosen the wrong wing. She didn't know the east, just the west. And Sirius had lived the summers here for 5 years, he knew this place like the back of his hand. She jogged to the common room, wondering how the others were doing. She heard the door she had used to get in the east end close, so that was her cue to leave this room.

She came to a long hall, with several doors. But none of them led to the pool, she guessed. So she sprinted down hte hall, hearing Sirius about 15 meters away. She came to the area where the Norht wing started. She set of in the direction of hte pool right away, and hid in the changerooms. She heard talking outside, and realized that she was the last one. She risked opening the door a crack, and saw that, to her dissapointment, Lily was in the pool.Then, to her happiness, she yanked James in. She looked a bit more, and saw Len sitting on the box. She was the tiebraker.

She was trying to decide how to get past them, when Len mouthed to her 'above'. She then transformed, and flew out the window.

James had seen Len mouth something, but he couldn't tell what it was. He realized that Melissa was here, most likely in the changerooms.

"Hey Remus, your girlfriend just told Melissa what to do! She mouthed it at her! And I can't rally do anything, so you have to guard!" he called.

Len smiled sheepishly. Then, Sirius came into the room, and saw the situation.

"Prongs, how'd you get in?" he asked.

"I was being a gentlman, and offered Lily a hand. She, yanked me in." he explained.

Sirius had trouble not laughing. "Has anyone seen Melissa?"

"She was around here just a second ago, but then Len mouthed instructions to her, and we guessed that she left." James replied.

Just then, Sirius spotted a raven diving for the box from above. He pointed, shouted, and barely stopped the dive before she reached the box. He then tossed the bird in the pool, and she immeadiatly transformed. She scowled.

"All right, all right, you win." she said. The boys glanced at each other and smiled. They then glanced at Len, and Remus picked her up, and dumped her in aswel. But she had grabbed his arm just before, and he came tumbling in with her. Now, Sirius was the only dry one, and was bragging about it. He regreted doing so, as his girlfriend then levitated a bucket of water over to him.

After a while, the girls got up and left the pool. They entered the changerooms, and Lily put a locking charm on it. Much tothe dissapointment of James and Sirius. They came out in normal clothes, and the boys offered a game of truth or dare.

"Okay. Who go's first?" Len asked. They decided to draw straws for it, and Lily won.

"Okay, um... James, T or D?"

"Dare!"

" Okay, you have to jump in the pool, fully clothed." she said with an evil grin.

James shrugged. " 'Kay. Padfoot, T or D? Why am I asking, I know you'll pick dare."

"Of course!" Sirius said.

" 'Kay, you have to eat fifty sherbert balls, and not hurt yourself."

"Easy! When?"

"Anytime you want." James said.

Then the little house elf came up to them, and said, "Tot would like to inform master and his friends that lunch has been served." she said, with a little curtsy.

"Thank you Tot, we will be right there." James said, as he got up and offered Lily a hand, making sure he was not near the pool.

Remus offered Len a hand too, and so did Sirius to Melissa. They walked to the dinning room, everyone except Sirius laughing at his dare. Len had once done 20 sherbert balls, and she hit her head on the roof rather hard.

They entered the large, esquiset dinning hall, and sat down at a table about the size of a house table. Tot brought out several platers of sandwhiches. There was ham, baloney, bacon and tomato, and, Len's favorite kind of sandwhich, lettuce and tomato with mayonaze.

After lunch, during which a small food fight broke out, Lily and Len insisted that they clean it up before Tot had to. Len used a cleaning charm, and had to do it three times to clean the mess. By the time they were done, there wasn't much to do.

"We could go swimming again?" the boys suggested, eager to see them in soaked bathing suits again.

"Nah, lets save that for tommorrow. I say we find a game to play in the wooded area." Lily said, and the other girls nodded in agreement. The boys shrugged. They went out to the approximatly one square kilometer woods, and started to walk in the thick trees.

" I know it sounds childish, but how about tag? It would be fun to play, dodging in between the trees." Len suggested.

"Sound great, but you girls can't transform!" Remus said, with a smile.

The girls glanced at each other. They nodded, and ran off, shouting "Catch us if you can!"

Each boy cursed at the head start the girls had gotten. Each went after thier girlfriend, and saw the dissadvantage that they were at.

Sirius saw Melissa just cross a small clearing. He ran after her, and saw that she had dissapeared. He walked off, but then heard leaves rustle. Sudenly, an idea popped into his head, and he looked up to a rather large tree. He could just make out the shilouet of his girlfriend. She saw that he saw her, and shouted "You can't tag me from down there!" in a teasing voice.

So then he started to climb the tree. Melissa looked at her situation. It was to far to jump down, so she climbed higher, hoping to discourage him. Unfortunatly, that just showed that she was out of options, and he climbed after her.

When she reached to top, she hid in a large cluster of leaves, hoping to slide down when he got up. But then a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, and Sirius whispered in Melissa's ear, so that it sent shivers down her spine. "Got ya." The writer refuses to decribe what happens next.

Len jogged through a clearing, and unfortunatly she wasn't a good runner. She already had a stitch in her side, and decided that her best bet would be to hide until she had more energy. She blended in perfectly with a bunch of plants near the edge of the clearing. She saw Remus come through the clearing and look at a mud puddle just before the exit. Len scowled. He saw no footprints there, so he knew she was still in the clearing. He looked around, and paused on the spot she was hiding in. Len thought about running for it as he walked her way, and when he was odviously about to tag her, she sprinted. He grinned and ran after her. But after about 30 seconds, she tripped on an overlarge tree root, and fell. She didn't get up in time, because Remus grabbed her around the waist, and kissed her cheek.

"Tag!" he said, laughing. Len turned around to face him, and kissed him back. The writer refuses to describe what happens next.

Lily was running silently through the trees. She came to a small spring, and decided to catch her breath here. She heard James just a short distance away, and decided to hide at the bottom of a hill on the other side of the spring. She crouched there, and saw James comming her way. He had seen her. She got up, laughing, and sprinted to a tree and started climbing. She didn't climb far though, because she wanted to double back once James climbed up after her. Which he did. Lily looked down and realized that she had climbed a little higher than she had hoped. Or, at least it looked that way. But as James was only about a foot from her, she stuck out her tongue at him, and jumped down.

James was a little surprised she was so competitive. But he jumped down right after her, and missed her by a hair. She was running back to the spring, and he followed. When he got there, he saw her catching her breath by the water. He grinned at the perfect opportunity. He sneaked up behind her, and pushed her in, saying 'tag' when he did.

Lily shrieked and fell in the water. Whe she came out, her clothes stuck to her. She scowled as she realized that he was staring at her.

He came up to her. "You know, you look really good like that." he said, placing his arms around her waist. Lily didn't get a chance to respond, because he then started kissing her.

After about an hour, the couples started returning to the house. Lily and James were the last to arrive, and they all had dinner. After which, they went to bed.

The next morning went by pretty normally. Sirius found out how to block the morning sunlight from entering hiswindow, and so he was asleep. All other group members spent their morning canging on his door, but he had put a charm on it so no sound could be heard from the outside. But then, James got the bright idea of calling Tot to make breakfast. As soon as the smell of bacon and eggs reached his door, he was out and fully dressed.

"Um, why are you all outside my door?" he asked.

"Sirius, we've been trying to wake you up for the past hour! How could you sleep with the racket we made!" Melissa asked.

He smiled. "It helps when trying to sleep in, if you know how to sound proof your door. Anyway, I smell bacon!"

The group sighed in defeat. They all went to the dinning room, and discussed what they wanted to do today.

"How about we play some quiditch? Girls vs Boys." James suggested.

Melissa snorted into her drink. "Yeah, right! _You_ haven't seen Lily and Len attempt to ride brooms!"

"What, The Birds can't fly! I never would've thought!" Remus said sarcastically.

"Oh no. _I_ can fly perfectly well, but these two, (she pointed her thumb at a blushing Lily and Len) are hopeless." she finnished.

Lily and Len blushed red as the others laughed at them. Then, Remus suggested that they more thouroughly explore the wooded area. Even though James and Sirius already had, they were out voted.

Okay, I would really appreciate some T or D ideas. As I am sure you can tell by the lame dares going on, I'm completely out. Also, I have decided to take a break from writing to read a bit. I will start again when I start again.


	21. Sunset, Aura Stones, and Secret Getaways

_**Ch.21, Sunsets, Aura Stones, and Secret Getaways.**_

The group decided to split up to cover more ground. Lily went with James, Len with Remus, and Melissa with Sirius. They weren't exactly looking for anything, but it would be fun anyway.

James and Lily held hands as they walked down a dirt path. The small forest got even more beautiful as they got deeper. The trees were so thick that they cast a greenish glow on the ground. The canopy of trees let in just enough rays of light to have this effect.

They came to a clearing, and looked around. It was amazing. The grass here was emerald green, and there was a waterfall leading into a pond. The waterfall was small, just big enough for one person to fit through. The water that flowed down it was the clearest crystal, and you could see stones underneath.

"Beautiful." Lily whispered. For some reason neither of them talked loud, almost as if to not disturb the tranquil area.

"You could say that again. I've never seen this place before." James answered. He walked to where he could reach the waterfall, and put a hand in the water. Both jumped away in shock as the water split, and revealed a passage just big enough for them to crawl through.

"What do you suppose is on the other side?" Lily asked.

"Only one way to find out." James said, as he crawled through the hole. Lily followed.

Len and Remus were taking a stroll down a path, that wasn't really a path. It was just an area left alone by shrubs. Probably because of the clearing visible just through the trees.

Remus looked at his girlfriend, and stopped smiling at the mischievous look in her eye.

"Len..." he started. But he was broken off by Len shouting 'tag' and gently hitting him on the shoulder. Then she ran off, laughing.

Shaking his head, he ran after her. They had reached the clearing now, and she had hidden. Remus searched around, keeping a close eye on the exit. (a small area not walled by trees.)He spun around as he heard leaves crackle, and saw his girlfriend sprinting for the exit. He laughed, he knew he could outrun her anytime. Apparently she knew this two, because she then turned around to squeeze through the tree wall. But she turned to fast, and tripped over her own two feet. And landed face first in a mud puddle. Remus caught up to her, and picked her up by her waist. They were both laughing, and walked over to the non-muddy part of the clearing. They sat down on the grass there, Len leaning into Remus' side.

Remus looked down in surprise to find her asleep. He smiled as she subconsciously snuggled into his side even more. The sun was setting, and from where they were sitting orange flooded the sky.

But then a bird (not a girl) just _had_ to chirp loudly. She woke with a start, and looked up at him.

"Was I asleep?" she asked, with a smile on her face.

"No, you were beautiful." he answered. They were silent for a while, just enjoying each other's company, until Remus brought up the subject he had been contemplating all night.

"Listen Len, I've been thinking, and I think I've fallen in love with you." he said, smiling at her.

She looked up at him, a large smile on her face. "I love you too Remus." She said, and kissed him.

Lily and James exited the small tunnel, only to find the most beautiful place they had ever seen. There was a small canopy of trees. They were so close together, that no one could have fitted in between the trees. There was just enough sunlight coming through it to light up the place. A soft kind of grass blanketed the area, and there was a shallow pond in a corner. You could see fish swimming near the surface.

The entire place smelled like flowers. They realized that there were flowers growing on the trees. Not a sound was heard in this place, and it gave many impressions: peaceful, safe, and content. The entrance was hidden by the waterfall, and the water masked the scent. By the entrance, there was another large slab of rock.

Lily walked over to a small patch of flowers just beside a tree, and sat down. "This place is beautiful." she said. James sat down beside her, and agreed.

"It's so peaceful. Like a sanctuary." Lily said in a barely audible whisper, so as not to disturb the peace.

"Our sanctuary." James added. Lily nodded in agreement, and they saw the sunset just barely over the horizon of tree tops that made the sanctuary up. They stayed there for a while, enjoying the peace and quiet. They decided that they would not tell the others about their find. This was a place that they could come to be alone, and neither of them wanted to spoil that.

Melissa and Sirius walked along a river. The splash of orange in the sky above them told them the time. The water was so clear, that it was as if nothing was there. They had been walking, with Melissa's head on his shoulder, until she cried out and crouched to the water.

"What is it?" Sirius asked.

"I can't believe it..." she started. Sirius watched as she plunged her hand in the cold water, and took out a small handful of stones.

"Am I going to get any sort of explanation, or will I just be standing here clueless for a few hours?" Sirius asked.

"These are aura stones!" she said, obviously expecting some sort of answer. He just looked confused.

She sighed and started explaining what they were. "Aura stones are very rare. You study them in Advanced Divination at Hogwarts. When a person holds one, it changes colour, depending on their future. For example, pink means love or marriage or something, red means hard times, gold means success, black means death, so on and so on. There's a maximum of four colours per stone." She said.

Sirius's face dawned in realization. "So what colour do you have?" he asked.

Melissa put a stone in the palm of her hand. It took a while to decide, which Melissa obviously took for a bad sign. But finally, it turned two colours. Red and Pink.

"So, you'll find love, and hard times. That's a strange combination." Sirius said.

"Why don't you try one?" Melissa asked, holding out a stone. He took it, and a colour was quickly decided. The stone was mostly red, but there was a little splash of pink on it.

Ignoring this, he said, "Come on, lets go show the others." and they left in search of their friends. They found Remus and Len pretty quickly, though Len had fallen back asleep. Remus tried not to wake her, and failed marvelously as he tried to get up without disturbing her.

"Well now that I'm awake, what's going on?" she asked as she took Remus' outstretched hand to get up.

"Len, you're not going to believe this! I found some aura stones in a river we followed!" Melissa said excitedly. She scowled as Len looked just as blank as Sirius had.

"Haven't you ever heard me talk about them?" Melissa said with a frown.

"Oh, er, yeah! Plenty of times!" Len lied.

"I thought you were the most expert liar of the group Len?" Remus asked with a smile.

"I don't like to lie to my friends. I'm told it's easy to tell if I'm lying when I don't want to lie." she said with a sheepish grin.

"Anyway, aura stones... (insert explanation from before) We thought you guys might want to try them." Melissa finally finished.

Remus shrugged. "Can't hurt to try." he said, as he took one and the colour quickly changed. This was the most amount of colours yet, with four on one stone. There were equal splashes of pink, red, blue and a small splash of bright yellow.

"What does blue mean?" Sirius asked, as she had only explained pink, red, gold and black.

Melissa looked at the colour sadly. "It means pain." she said.

This was no surprise to Remus, as his monthly transformations weren't exactly happy. He ignored it, and asked about yellow, which turned out to be joy. He then handed a stone to Len, and she put it in the palm of her hand.

Two colours immediately flowed into the stone. Two more soon joined. She had pink, red, gold, and another new colour: green. Melissa shrieked.

"What? What does green mean?" Len asked, not liking the fact that Melissa wasn't telling her. Actually, she was bouncing up and down. This got anoying after a while, and she began to turn to the others for an explanation. But then, Melissa grabbed her arm, and told her what green meant.

"It means kids! It means that you're going to have kids sometime in the future!" she said, making Len blush a very deep red. She was, after all, in a deep relationship with someone standing right next to her, and she had just been told her future has something to do with kids.

The group laughed at the blush on her face, while Remus was attempting to hide his own blush. He then quickly suggested that they find Lily and James to see their colours.

The group spent hours searching. Even in their animagus forms, Len and Melissa couldn't find them. They decided that they might have gone back to the house, so they went back and waited there. All the while, Melissa was teasing Len about her colour. Then Sirius just happened to notice that Remus was blushing too, and now they were both teased mercilessly.

Lily woke up to find herself in the sanctuary. She was leaning against James' shoulder, and he was dozing against her head. She smiled, and saw that the sun had gone down.

"James! James, wake up!" she whispered as she gently shook him awake.

"What time is it?" he mumbled as he slowly woke up.

"Too late, the sun's gone down. The others will be looking for us." Lily said as she got up.

"You know, I don't think it matters if their looking for us." he said, with a sly grin. He put his arms around her waist, and kissed her. She kissed back, and after about ten minutes, Lily broke away.

"James Potter, you know full well that if Len and Melissa transform and fly above us, our nice little sanctuary might be discovered." she said in a mock scold.

"Allright, allright. Let's go."

They left through the tunnel, and dried themselves off afterwards. Then they used wand light to find their way back. The moon helped a little, because it was a few days from being full. Remus had already arranged to go to St. Mungos for his transformation, and he had agreed to test something called the Wolvesbane Potion. Of course, Len was extremely worried, what if the potion had strange after-effects?

As soon as the couple made it back to the house, and went inside, they were immediately confronted.

"Where were you?"

"Where have you been?"

"We looked all over for you Prongs!"

"We couldn't find you anywhere!"

After they said that they had just been walking around, Melissa cheered up.

"Oh, and Lily, you won't believe what I found in a river!" she said.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Aura stones! Can you believe it? Tones of them!" she said happily.

"What stones?" Lily asked, dumbfounded.

Melissa scowled. "Didn't _anyone_ listen to me in Hogwarts?"

Lily and Len started whistling innocently. This made the boys go into hysterical fits of laughter. But Lily and James stopped when they heard what aura stones actually were.

Lily took one in her hand after hearing an explanation of what all the colours meant. Hers changed colour very quickly. She got: pink, a splash of red, gold, and green. This made her blush of course, and Len and Remus blushed even more as Melissa took the liberty of telling the two Len's colours.

After they were all done teasing each other, James took a stone. It took a few minutes to decide, during which the group continued to tease three blushing people. But when it finally did, everyone focused. James' colours were: a large splash of red, pink, yellow, and the smallest splash of bage, which according to Melissa, meant bad tidings for loved ones. James chose to ignore this colour.

That night everyone was talking about their colours. Lily noticed with a sinking feeling that James was unusually quiet. She realized that he was probably thinking about the bage.

Lily was right, James couldn't get the colour out of his head. He thought about how it would be impossible for him to live if something bad happened to Lily. All that night he was haunted by dreams of screaming and bright green light. At five am he decided it would be better not to sleep, and so he took a leaf out of Lily's book and read. She was right- it did distract him.

Sorry the chapie was so short! I just wanted to fit in some important things like the colours and the sanctuary. And for those of you reading this for the romance part, the 'I love you' s on Remus and Len's part was important too.


	22. The Order of the Phoenix

Here we are with another chapie. R,E&R! SAP ALERT!

and to gat nat nat: thank you for reviewing so much. and since you are a reviewer and you asked, I have something in store for James' parents later on in the story. That's why he had bage.

_**Ch.22, The Order of The Phoenix**_

Lily woke up early the next day. She went downstairs to be greeted by a very tired James. She went over to him.

"What's the matter James? You're worried about something, I can tell." she said.

"It's nothing. Just those colours."

Lily sighed. "James, you know that if something happened, we'd all be there for you. Did you think we would all just abandon you?" her voice was edged with hurt.

James picked up on it. He turned to her, and took her hands in his. "Oh Lily, it's nothing like that. I just don't know what I'd do if I lost you! I love you more than anyone or anything in the world, if you got hurt or something, I don't know what I would do without you!"

Lily smiled, with tears threatening in her eyes. " I love you too James. And nothings going to happen anytime soon, so why worry about the future? It will come soon enough. Come on, I'll get some breakfast. You look starved." and she kissed him on the lips and got up, not realizing how much she had made James happy by telling him that she returned his feelings.

An hour, a breakfast, and several compliments on Lily's side for excellent cooking later, the group decided to go swimming. They got out a beach ball and played water volleyball.

It was boys versus girls. As usual, the girls turned to Melissa for a plan.

"'Kay, here's what we do. Since their boys, all we have to do is strut our stuff for a bit to get their guard down. Other than that, we just play our best. Now who wants to kick some boy butt!" and with that, they laughed and got in the pool.

The girls played their part perfectly. It was o-too-obvious what they were doing, but it's not like the boys could help it! They bent down whenever possible, and made sure it was quite often. After about five minutes, it was as plain as day that their guard was down. So then, the girls started playing well, but making sure the boys stayed mesmerized. the end score was twenty- three for the girls.

After everyone was out of the pool, Sirius came up to Melissa and said:"Why do I think you're the reason that all the girls all of a sudden started showing off and driving us all crazy?" he asked playfully as he put his arms around her from behind.

She turned around and faced him, and said "Maybe because I am?" Those were the only words she could fit in before they started snogging, just like the other two couples.

Half an hour later, they flooded into the kitchen and waited for the late morning post. Which promptly hit the window. James got up and let the 'peck' of owls in. Two stayed with James, and two went over to each Lily, Len, Melissa and Sirius. One went over to Remus.

James' letters:

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_It is our great pleasure to inform you that you have been excepted into our Auror training program. Due to complications at the Ministry of Magic, classes will begin on September !st, instead of August !st. We hope that this causes no inconvenience. Your student ID pass into the ministry is included. Show it at the front desk to receive further instructions. We look forward to seeing you._

_Professor Blah, _

_Ministry of Magic,_

_Auror Training department._

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_Please make the time to meet me in the upper floors of the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow at 1:00. This is very important, so please don't tell anyone, save those who receive a similar letter._

_Professor Dumbledore._

Lily's letters:

_Dear Miss Evans,_

_It is our great pleasure to inform you that you have been excepted into our Auror training program. Due to complications at the Ministry of Magic, classes will begin on September !st, instead of August !st. We hope that this causes no inconvenience. Your student ID pass into the ministry is included. Show it at the front desk to receive further instructions. We look forward to seeing you._

_Professor Blah, _

_Ministry of Magic,_

_Auror Training department._

_Dear Miss Evans,_

_Please make the time to meet me in the upper floors of the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow at 1:00. This is very important, so please don't tell anyone, save those who receive a similar letter._

_Professor Dumbledore._

Melissa's letters:

_Dear Miss Smith,_

_It is our great pleasure to inform you that you have been excepted into our Auror training program. Due to complications at the Ministry of Magic, classes will begin on September !st, instead of August !st. We hope that this causes no inconvenience. Your student ID pass into the ministry is included. Show it at the front desk to receive further instructions. We look forward to seeing you._

_Professor Blah, _

_Ministry of Magic,_

_Auror Training department._

_Dear Miss Smith, _

_Please make the time to meet me in the upper floors of the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow at 1:00. This is very important, so please don't tell anyone, save those who receive a similar letter._

_Professor Dumbledore._

Sirius' letters:

_Dear Mr. Black,_

_It is our great pleasure to inform you that you have been excepted into our Auror training program. Due to complications at the Ministry of Magic, classes will begin on September !st, instead of August !st. We hope that this causes no inconvenience. Your student ID pass into the ministry is included. Show it at the front desk to receive further instructions. We look forward to seeing you._

_Professor Blah, _

_Ministry of Magic,_

_Auror Training department._

_Dear Mr. Black,_

_Please make the time to meet me in the upper floors of the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow at 1:00. This is very important, so please don't tell anyone, save those who receive a similar letter._

_Professor Dumbledore._

Len's letters:

_Dear Miss Candel,_

_This is a notice that you have been excepted into training for a teaching post of Defense Against The Dark Arts. We look forward to seeing you on August 4th._

_Madame Blahblah,_

_Ministry of Magic,_

_Department for the Development of Future Generations._

_Dear Miss Candel,_

_Please make the time to meet me in the upper floors of the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow at 1:00. This is very important, so please don't tell anyone, save those who receive a similar letter._

_Professor Dumbledore._

Remus' letter:

_Dear Mr. Lupin,_

_Please make the time to meet me in the upper floors of the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow at 1:00. This is very important, so please don't tell anyone, save those who receive a similar letter._

_Professor Dumbledore._

"So, who got what?" James asked, to break the silence that everyone shared since reading the letters from Professor Dumbledore. Len answered first.

"I got something from the Ministry, and something from Dumbledore." she said.

"Same here" was the general reply.

"Sooooo, who's going to see Dumbledore tomorrow?" Sirius said. Five hesitant hands raised in the air. He then raised his own hand to make six.(haha! I bet I got ya with thinking only five people would go!)

The rest of the day was spent quietly speculating on what Dumbledore had in store for them.

0000000000The next day00000000

The next day, the group was very quiet, wondering what couldn't be told in a letter. At 12:50, the group apparated to the Leaky Cauldron.

They showed their letters to the barkeeper, who opened the door to the upper levels for them. When they got there, they found a comfy sitting area, and Professor Dumbledore in one of his conjured squishy chairs. He stood up when they entered.

"Ah welcome! I'm glad you could all make it! Please, sit down." he said happily, gesturing to the other chairs in the room. They sat in silence until Dumbledore had finished his drink. Then he spoke up.

"I can imagine you're wondering why I would call you here?( everyone agrees) Well, I'm sure you have heard of the evil wizard Lord Voldemort?"

Everyone nodded, and no shivers ran through the group. They were still a little perplexed to talk much.

"Well, I just happen to have started a group made up of people who er... don't like him too much. We call ourselves the Order of the Phoenix. We decided on that name because I knew him in his school days, and Voldemort hates phoenixes. We basically try to stop him from recruiting 'Death Eaters' but we also protect Muggles who are rumored to be attacked by him soon. We also stopped him from carrying out many of his plans." Dumbledore paused, and let them absorb this information.

"Soo, what has this Order of the Phoenix got to do with us?" James asked.

Dumbledore smiled. "Why, we also get people to join our ranks. I was wondering if any of you would be interested. Be warned though, once you join there is no turning back. It will be dangerous, and I can't guarantee anyone's safety. I'm afraid that's all I can tell you, until when or if you join. I will leave you now, to contemplate my offer." and he got up and left through a door at the back of the room.

After a few moments of silence, Sirius said, "Well, I'm all for it."

Melissa agreed. "Sounds good."

It looked like Len's sense of adventure got the better of her. She nodded, "I'm in." Remus agreed the moment she said she was in, because he felt he could protect her better if he was actually with her.

"Count me in." Lily said. This sparked an immediate argument from James, saying that it was too dangerous. Of course, she got very angry. She said that she didn't need him to look after her, and reminded him that Voldemort killed her parents. She wanted a chance to fight back. This seemed to shut him up.

"Fine. Just promise me you'll be careful Lily." James said.

"No James, I'm going to run into enemy territory unarmed. Of course I'll be careful!" she said sarcastically.

"Well then, consider me in." James said.

"Excellent! (he come back out, startling the group) You should know that the upper floors of the Leaky Cauldron serve as Headquarters. They are charmed against such things as apparation, and the floo address is a deep secret. No port keys can be made to travel here, and not many people know that there is an upper floor. The current barkeeper is a member. He will let you in when there's a meeting. Speaking of meetings, please be here on August 14, at about 8:00pm. That will be a small meeting, just to introduce you to the other members.(he is suddenly stern) Now this place is a complete secret. You must not tell anyone, absolutely no one about it's existence." he said as he looked at the group over his half-moon spectacles.

The group nodded again, still a little stunned.

Dumbledore smiled. "Oh, and Mr. Potter, it is safe to tell you're parents about the Order. They joined about a year ago."

Everyone looked at the stunned expression on James' face. "M-My parents?" he stuttered.

"Yes. In fact, they are on a mission right now. They shouldn't be back for about another week. (he smiles as he turns to leave) I will inform the barkeeper that you are all now members. Please don't be offended if he is suspicious of you at first. Enjoy you're holiday." and he left.

Len was the first to speak. "Well that was fast."

"I couldn't agree more." Remus said, reaching for her hand.

After they got back to the Potter Manor, (with a discreet welcome by the barkeeper) everyone felt much more sentimental. They realized that their partners might not be here much longer with them all in the Order. Lily and James sneaked off to the Sanctuary more and more often, Len and Remus spent practically every moment they had with each other, and Melissa and Sirius disappeared about every half hour.

Over the next few days, they all tried to ignore the fact that they were grown up. They spent time playing games that many would deem 'childish' and no one complained. Games like hide and seek, and tag. And Len got a tape (audio only) of James singing in the shower.

That morning the quintuplets helped the Birds set up speakers all around the Manor. The girls used the women's changing room by the pool as a base.

The quintuplets ran inside the room, and told the girls that James was out of the shower, and handed the girls the tape. Len took it with a smile and hurried over to her trusty camcorder. Which was set on audio only, and turned up full volume. Lily charmed the doors so that no sound could be heard from outside, and had already charmed the wires to be magic-resistant. The quintuplets insisted that there were to be no speakers in hb. (Home base)

So Len took the tape and put it in. Then, she turned it on. (Dun dun dun duhhhhh) Meanwhile Melissa had brought food with her and the girls plus quintuplets, sat down to a pleasant meal. Well, as nice as can be in a locker room.

Sirius woke with a start. The most horrible sound was flooding through the walls. He ran outside to see what was going on. He screamed. It was James' singing! He covered his ears and ran like a maniac to the East common room. Remus was there, his hands over his ears.

"Where is it coming from?" Sirius shouted over the noise.

"I don't know!" he shouted back.

Then James walked in and asked (or rather shouted) what all the complaining was about.

"I'm not _that_ bad at singing, am I?"

"Trust me Prongs, you are!" Remus shouted.

Sirius looked around. "Where are the girls?"

They all glanced at each other, and ran to the west end. They searched the wing completely. No sign of the girls. They re-entered the East wing, and found James' brothers running around much like Sirius had.

"Am I really that bad?" James asked. Both nodded.

"I'll bet ten galleons that a certain three girls are behind this." Sirius said, as the boys jogged to the pool.

James stopped. "Where are my sisters?" he asked. The Marauders exchanged horrified glances. If the quintuplets were working together with the Birds, the Marauders were done for.

Finally the tape stopped, and the boys had about 30 seconds to think. They had to find the girls if they were ever going to shut down the tape. But their 30 seconds were up, and the sound of James' singing rang through the Manor. Then, Sirius said, "I smell cookies!"

Remus and James glanced at each other. The girls could be hiding out somewhere nearby! They might have taken food with them. They told Sirius to try and find the cookies.

"That's easy!" Sirius said as he walked over to the girls locker room. Then he realized what James and Remus had and he and James put their shoulders against the door.

"One three! 1...2...3!" he said, and they pushed the door open. The girls screamed as they saw the boys in a girls locker room. They scattered, but it would seem that the birds had sent Annie off with the tape.

Then, to Lily's horror, James got an evil glint in his eye. He walked casually towards her, and started tickling her. Remus and Sirius did the same to protesting Len and Melissa. Then, all three lifted the girls up easily, and dumped them in the pool, clothes and all.

"And that's for teaming up with the quintuplets!" James shouted. The boys spent the rest of the day (except for Remus who apologized before he dumped Len in.) running from their angry girlfriends, as they had been caught staring.

And there's another chapie! Thank you for everyone's very nice reviews. Any questions, just ask. Thank you!


	23. Moving Day and Birthdays

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS THINGS THAT PEOPLE UNDER 13 SHOULD NOT BE READING. FOR LATER PARTS IN THIS CHAPTER, READER DISCRESSION IS ADVISED.Now, I can't be held responsible for all those people who don't have a file on Fanfiction but are reading anyways and pay absolutely no attention to the rating. Heehee, that sounded like one of those movie warnings, didn't it?

_**Ch.23, Moving Day and Birthdays**_

The group spent the rest of their time in the Potter Manor doing several things: Swimming, pranks, snogging, hide and seek, tag, snogging, pranks and the odd bit of snogging. On the day that the couples went thier separate ways, James' parents had arrived back. His mother was very emotional at the prospect of her first son leaving the house. From the way that his parents explained that they had been on a mission for the Ministry, James decided it would be kept as a little surprise to find that he and his friends were also in the Order.

Len and Remus had already had all of their furnature transfered to their appartment. Melissa and Sirius had everything in their Diagon Alley flat. Now James was just taking Lily on a tour of their house.

"Oh James, it's beautiful." Lily said as she looked up at the cottage-like house in a small and friendly mostly muggle comunity called Godrics Hollow. (can someone tell me if I spelt that wrong?) It was white panneled and had a hardwood floor on the inside. Dark green doors made entries from both the front and back. James showed her to the kitchen and dinning room, which were right beside each other. As soon as you entered the house there was a hall about 7 meters long, and ended in stairs leading to the second level. There was a sitting room right across from the kitchen, but you had to cross the hall to get to it. Across from the dinning room was a downstairs bathroom. That's when the stairs started. Upstairs were three bedrooms, a room for each Lily and James; and a guest room. There was a second bathroom on hte second floor, and the guest room had one also.

They used the sitting room fireplace to floo back to James' house. Then they (with the help of the others of course) enlarged the fireplace and levitated what they needed through it. Len and Remus were on the other side, lazily floating things out fo the way for new arrivals.

After everything that needed to be there was there, the rest of the group joined Len and Remus and started to move the furnature into the right places. The kitchen was the most difficult because the door had trouble fitting the wide stove. In the end, Lily temporarily enlarged it to fit.

The house was gorgeous. James and Sirius set up a porch swing on the porch (duh) and then the group left to let Lily and James be alone for a while. The couple was greatful.

Sirius took Melissa on a little tour as well, once they reached the flat. They sat down on the sofa in thier mostly blue living room.

"Mel?" Sirius asked.

"Hm?"

"I love you."

Melissa smiled. "I love you too, Sirius." ( the writer refuses to describe what happens next.)

Remus was waiting for Len, in her house, and talking to her parents. He recieved many deiscreet warnings not to mistreat her or anything like that. She was just getting the last of her things. She came down, with a large bag. She embraced her family, and said goodbye. They flooed to their appartment, and Len apologized for her family.

"You have nothing to apologize for Len! I think it's sweet that their so worried about you." he siad, giving her a quick peck on the lips.

She smiled. "Thanks. Come on- I'll make some dinner."

They ate a nice dinner of salad and soup. Since the appartment was so small, they had dedicated a small corner of the sitting room to a circualr table with four chairs. They used this as their dinning area. That night, they both fell asleep on the sofa.

The next morning it was un-officially agreed that the group would meet at Lily and James' place. It was quite a hysterical sight. Lily and James were eating in the sitting room, and then the fire started up. The couple on the sofa got up, ready to greet whoever it was. Out tumbled Sirius, closely followed by Melissa. Who promptly tripped and brought Sirius down with her, and they were attempting to get up. Then, the fire started up _again,_ and out came Len, who tripped on the people on the floor and joined the tangle. Remus followed and also tripped. Lily and James were doubled over in laughter as their friends struggled to untangle arms and legs. Then there was a quick flash of light and they saw the camera in Lily's hands. She shrieked and ran upstairs.

The group untangeld themselves and followed. After a while of chasing Lily and avoiding James, Remus simply held up his wand and said "_ Accio camera film that Lily used!"_ and it flew into his hand. The rest burst out in luaghter at the simplicity of it. And the look on Lily's face was absoluttely priceless.

"I knew you were smart!" Len said as she kissed him. He grinned and said, "Wasn't I all along?"

They spent the day getting a tour of Lily and James' house, and laughing at the embarrased look on James' face when his mother popped in to make sure he was alright. She was fretting around, and her most common phrase was: "My little Jamie is all grown up, his own house and living with his girlfriend..." Of course, she only siad this to herself.

On her way out, she turned to Lily. "Please make sure he eats well, I don't want my Jamie getting sick. He never liked brocoli that much, but he'll eat it if you put a spell on it that makes it taste like vanilla..." Meanwhile, the group was going red in the face from holding in laughter.

"Don't worry Mrs. Potter, I'll make sure that... _Jamie_ eats well. I happen to be very good at itching charms..." and Mrs. Potter laughed at the mock evil planning in her voice. Not to mention that her oldest son had just gone beat red at the use of his pet name. And that all current occupants of the house were just as red as he was, only it was with holding in laughter.

The moment she popped out, the house vibrated with laughter.

"Well, _Jamie_, would you like us to tuck you in before we go?" Sirius teased.

"Or would _Jamie_ like some playtime first?" Melissa siad.

"Now that's enough, _Jamie_ needs a little din-din I think!" Lily siad, patting James on the head. James mumbled something, and continued to be beat red.

While Lily was making dinner, James turned to the others.

"No more teasing, I need you're help to plan Lily's birthday party."

0000000000000000000000000000

The next day, Len was very nervous. This was plain to Remus, who noticed that she talked less and less. It was, after all, the first day of her classes so that she had a teaching liscense.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that you were nervous." Remus said with a grin as he leaned against the wall. Len looked up from where she was laying on her stomach, reading a book for her classes. She had left her door open, and now Remus was leaning against the doorframe. She smiled at him.

"Is it that obvious?" she asked.

"Yes." he siad, still grinnning.

"And what makes you so happy about that?"

"I just find it ironic that you're spending all you're time thinking about you're class, when you're about to be latte for it."

He laughed as she jumped up, and grabbed her books. Luckily she was already appropriotly dressed, and she opened her wardrobe and took out her bookbag. She got out all her books, and stuffed them in. she waved bye and popped out.

Remus stayed where he was, grinning and waiting.

Len popped back in, and he held out the lunch she had pre-prepared. she smiled at him, gave him a kiss and popped back out, this time with everything she needed.

After she left, Remus popped to Sirius's house. It had been agreed that this would be home base for planning Lily's birthday party, which was a surprise. It was in three days, on August 7th. Remus would fill Len in on what she missed when she got back. Remus, Sirius and Melissa were waiting for James to arrive. He just then popped in.

He got right down to buisiness. "I made a list of things we need. I've already checked somethings off. All we need is decorations, a guest list-"

"Uh James?"

He looked up. "What is it Melissa?"

"I think she would find it very sweet of you to go to all this trouble, but Lily's the one that likes small parties. It's Len and I who like the bigger ones." she siad.

"Huh?"

Melissa sighed. "Len's the one good for explainging this sort of thing. Anyway, where is she Remus?"

"Teaching lessons." he replied quickly.

"Great, now it's my job. Anyway, Lily feels pressured when she's with anybody but us. The eight of us, I mean. Everybody else she knows expects her to be a goody-goody-two shoes all the time. And yes James, Lily is not _always_ a well-behaved, model student type. Before she got her Prefects badge at Hogwarts, she only warned about rules and stuff. She didn't lecture. I think she would be happier with just the seven of us." Melissa finnished.

James shrugged, but really felt a little hurt. "Well then we can cross out guest list, and now all we need is decorations, a game or two, and cake. Oh, and a method to get her out of the house for an hour."

"Me and Len talked about the latter last night. We can take her shopping, and when Lily and Len get shopping, you got an hour and a half on you're hands." Melisssa said with a little laugh.

"Great. Now, decorations." James siad.

"I think her favourite colour is green, right Mel?" Remus asked. Melissa nodded. They spent another fifteen minutes on things like that, and then set out to Diagon Alley to buy the stuff. Melissa and Sirius set out for games and decorations, and Remus and James went to find the perfect cake.

In the end, they got green streamers and balloons, a chocolate cake with cinnamin shavings, but couldn't find any games. They decided to ask Len for ideas on any muggle games that Lily might enjoy. They put the cake in the fridge, and hid the decorations, just in case Lily came looking for James. Which she did. When James was wrapping the present he had picked up for her in Diagon Alley. He quickly hid it behind his back, though Lily might have seen the wrapping paper. And he was very bad at the innocent act. But then, as if on que, Len popped in just as James was about to recieve a scolding.

Len quickly lied about what she was doing here with a large box,( which was filled with muggle games that Remus had asked her to get for Lily) and Lily was still suspicious, but satisfied. Then Melissa came out of the kitchen, where she had been putting a spell on the cake so the icing wouldn't melt.

"Lily! How are you? Listen, Len and I are taking you shopping on you're birthday, the last time you went shopping for fun was... I don't remember." she said just loudly enough for the two people in the kitchen to hear. Who were frantically trying to hide things in case she came in. The group spent the rest of the day staying for dinner at Sirius' amd Melissa's appartment, and just talking.

The next day, which was Saturday, the entire group (minus Lily) made the final preparations for the party. On the actual day, Len and Melissa took Lily shopping while the boys set up the house. Remus sharmed confetti and balloons to fly at Lily as soon as she came in. Sirius and James set up the cake and the presents. They were all hiding and the next moment (two hours later) Lily popped in with Len and Melissa. Then, Lily walked into the living room.

"SURPRISE!" the boys, Len and Melissa shouted. The look on Lily's face was priceless. She dropped her bags (all of which were clothes that Melissa convinced her to get. In other words, what James would like) and stared.

"How do you like it Lily? Happy birthday!" James said, giving his girlfriend a kiss.

"All this... oh thank you James! And the rest of you too!" she siad, flinging her arms around James, who gladly returned the hug.

She proceeded to open presents, and she got a set of books from Melissa and Len, a large box of Berrtie Bott's Every Flavour beans from Sirius, a nice book on DADA from Remus, and a necklace from James. It was gorgeous. It was a locket, and inside it was a picture of both James and Lily. Engraved on the front was _I love you_ and it was the brightest silver. She put it on, and thanked everyone.

After presents they had some cake. After Lily said that she only wanted one piece, for Lily's ammusment James and Sirius had a cake eating contest. Lily was reminded of Hogwarts when she thought about how immature this was. But now she didn't find it anoying, but funny. Sirius won, though he felt quite sick from the rich cake.

Then, to Lily's enjoyment, Len pulled out thier favourite muggle game. (Lily's and Len's)Twister.

"How do you play?" James asked.

"It's simple. (Len lays out the mat on the floor) See the coloured cirles? Someone spins this wheel, (she points to the weel) and it lands on a colour. Then, depending on where the spinner stops, you have to put you're hand or foot on a dot of the same colour. (She gives them an example.) The last one to get tripped up wins." Lily siad.

"The mat we have is big enough for four people. Who wants to play?" Len asked.

Before anyone could fit a word in, Lily added "And I'm playing in this round."

"I will too. I still have yet to beat Miss Flexible over here." Len said, walking over to a corner of the mat while pointing to Lily. After they had heard the rules, the boys learned that this game involved a lot of phisical contact. James and Remus immediatly volunteered.

"I guess I'm stuck with the spinner." Melissa said, and sat over with Sirius, the spinner in her lap. Sirius ate to much cake and now felt nausues from about ten slices of rich cake. But that didn't mean that he wasn't in the mood for a little mischeif.

The game started off very innocently. But then Sirius and Melissa started er... _mistaking_ certain colours, and soon both couples were in very comprimising positions. Lily was in a (has anyone ever done a 'crab' exercise? It's sort of like doing a bridge, but lower.) 'crab' position, and James, if he looked down could see her.

But then Len got tripped up due to distraction from the _extrememly _close posistion that she and Remus had been stuck in. She had tried to move her leg to blue (which was _conveniently_ on the other side of the playing mat.) and lost her balance. When she fell, her other leg accidentally tripped Remus, who fell on top of her. After a lot of blushing, and just looking at each other, they got untangled and left the mat, ready to see who would win out of Lily and James.

The couple on the floor were almost touching, but each remained balanced. Then, Len and Remus found out about the colour _mistaking, _but it's not like either of them had an argument! So, they had to move thier right hand to yellow, which just happened to be right under Lily. Lily easily put her hand there, but James was another story. He finaly managed it, and if anyone looked in now, it would look like the couple had been caught in the middle of something.

James, realizing his chance to _unintentionally_ make a move on Lily let his right hand slip when he was told to put it on yellow aswell. When he fell, he landed with his arms around Lily on the floor. Because she was right under him, she fell too.

Lily went red right away, but James just grinned and said, "Hi."

Lily gave half a smile and scowl. It was obvious she was amused, but she was going to try not to show it. James got off of her, and turned to his sniggering friends.

"Why do I get the idea that _someone_ rigged that spinner?" Lily said, trying to sound annoyed.

"Why do I get the idea that _you_ didn't mind too much?" Melissa asked in the same voice. This set the group (minus Lily and James, who just smiled hopefully at Lily) into fits of laughter. Lily blushed.

"Oh well look at the time, you guys had all better be getting back to you're homes now, hadn't you?" Lily said as she blushed and ushered her friends out the door. They waved bye, and with final wishes of 'happy birthday' popped out.

The moment they were gone, Lily turned to James with the smallest hint of a smile on her face. "You hadn't tripped yet, why do I get the feeling you fell on purpose?" she said with an amused tone.

"Well do you think I could resist such a beuatiful girl for long?" James said with a hint of his old Hogwarts voice that he used when he was chasing Lily. He walked towards her and gave her a very passionate kiss. (The writer refuses to describe what happened)

When Len popped back into their appartment, she looked beside her and saw Remus pop in right next to her.

He put his arms around her waist and whispered "Do you have any idea how crazy you just drove me?"

She grinned. "Yes, I do." They started kissing and after a while of intense snogging, Len couldn't help but let out a little moan. She felt him smile against her lips. She let another small moan escape her lips as he moved to her neck. (AN: I refuse to describe the details of the events that follow)

Okay, I think everyone knows what happens there. R,E&R!


	24. Meetings and Surprises

Thank you for reviews! They encourage me so much since my last story was a complete failure compared to it's pre-quel and this story. Oh, and sorry but I forgot to spell-check that last chapie. Sorry people!

_**Ch.24, Meetings and Surprises**_

Len popped into Lily's house after her class. She still hadn't got a chance to tell the girls. So, she had arranged a meeting with them for right now, and Lily got James out of the house because they were having a girls day, since apparently Len had something important to tell them.

She was greeted by Lily who led her into the sitting room. Then Melissa popped in aswell, and joined them.

"So what was so important that it couldn't wait much longer Len?" Lily asked.

"Do you guys remember when we were at James' parents' place?" Len asked.

"Yeah, of course we do." Melissa said.

"And remember that first day when the boys woke us up with buckets of water?"

"Where is this going?" Lily asked.

But Len was going to draw out the drama for a bit longer. "And remember when you guys accused me of modeling for Remus?"

"Len, if you don't tell us right now..." Melissa said in a mock threatening voice.

"And remember that little conversation after-"

"Yes, we remember that day perfectly well Len, now TELL US!" Lily shouted with a playful tone of voice.

"Well I told you guys that 'if anything ever happened, I would tell you?'" she said, grinning and holding up her hands in quotes.

Melissa rolled her eyes, "What's the point- OH MY GOSH!" she shouted in sudden realization. Then, Lily's eyes widened as she realized the same thing.

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Of course, anyone who assumed that most of the Marauders would not try to listen in is a complete lunatic. James and Sirius were under the invisibility cloak, realizing what Len had intended for the ears of only Lily and Melissa. Ooh, this would be good for teasing.

In fact, that's exactly what the girls were doing, after the innitial shock had worn off.

"Now Len, don't go forgetting you're aura stone colours!" Melissa said, clapping an arm around Len's shoulder.

Len blushed. "I tested myself this morning, I'm not pregnant."

"Well yeah, but this is a big step in you're relationship with Remus, who knows how far it could get..." Lily said.

As Len blushed even more, the girls continued to tease. James and Sirius decided to go and do the same to Remus. They sneaked out, and used the fireplace in the kitchen to Floo to Remus' apartment. They found him flipping through the daily prophet, looking for a job.

"Oh hey guys. How are you?" he greeted.

"Well _we_ are absolutely fine Moony!" Sirius said, and Remus looked to James for an explanation of why he was acting so strange. James mouthed the word 'gossip' to him, and Remus tried to hide his blush.

Unfortunately it didn't work. "We just _happened_ to overhear what the girls were talking about Moony..." James said, holding in laughter.

"Oh... really." Remus said slowly.

"We just happened to hear that a certain Remus Lupin and a certain Remus Lupin's girlfriend-" Sirius got cut off by a daily prophet thrown in his face.

The next days before the group's first Order meeting passed quickly. The morning before, which happened to be a weekend, the group was visiting Len and Remus, who were currently getting brunch.

Melissa held up a money tin. "Now ladies and gentlemen, we are currently taking bets on when our dear friend Remus, will propose to our other dear friend, Len. I call her birthday!"

"I call Christmas for 10 sickles!" Lily put in.

"Darn. That was my idea. Well then I say New Years Day." James said, putting 10 sickles in.

"I say Valentines Day!" Sirius said, popping a few sickles in. Just then, Len came in carrying a tray of bagels and toast. She scowled when she saw what they were doing, but the group saw the blush that the scowl hid.

Then, at 7:45pm, the group popped over to the Leaky Cauldron. (I'm going to get tired of typing that over and over again, so from now on it will be called LC.) They went over to the barkeeper, Billy, and he let them in.

It seemed that being early was a fad. Everyone, including Dumbledore, turned to face the newcomers. James noticed that his parents were bent over a map, and not paying much attention.

Then Dumbledore stood up. Everyone turned to face him. "I'm sure that most of you noticed that we have some newcomers. Though I'm sure that a certain Mr. & Mrs.Potter already know them all. I would like to introduce Miss Lily Evans, Miss Melissa Smith, Mr. Sirius Black, all of whom are in training to be an Auror, Miss Lenilah Candel, who is training to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Mr. Remus Lupin, and, another Auror in training, Mr. James Potter." Each person lifted their hand in greeting as their name was called.

The general population on the room noticed that James had the same surname as two of their members. They greeted the new members, and many looked to James' parents, both of whom were still bent over a map, and obviously hadn't heard a word said.

James noticed this, and decided to surprise them. "Hi mum, hi dad! How are you?" he shouted, with a smile on his face.

They jerked up, and whipped around to face him. "J-James? What are you doing here?" his father asked.

James smiled. "About two weeks ago, Professor Dumbledore asked my friends and I if we'd like to join the Order." he said simply.

"And obviously we all did." Sirius finished.

"B-But how come we weren't told?" Mrs.Potter asked.

Dumbledore answered. "I do believe that James wanted to surprise you. And it seems he did." he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yo-you could say that again." Mr.Potter whispered.

About twenty minutes was spent with more personal introductions to the rest of the Order. But in the case of James' parents, the 20 minutes were spent worrying themselves crazy. Then, Dumbledore noticed this, and took his friends aside.

"You are both very worried." Dumbledore said seriously.

"Of course we're worried! We were just informed that our oldest son has just joined a secret organization that happens to put their lives on the line every other week!" Mr.Potter said, exasperated.

"What if Jamie gets hurt! Or worse!" Mrs.Potter added.

"Listen to me. Those six friends- as long as their together, they won't let anything happen to each other. Plus, James can look after himself. I wouldn't have asked any of them to join if they all weren't capable of that. They all, including James, were in the top of their Defense class. I don't blame you for worrying. But I repeat- they can look after themselves." Dumbledore finished.

Mr.Potter sighed, and looked over at his son. James was laughing at a joke with his girlfriend, Lily, told by one of the Prewet brothers. Just as he was about to say something, the barkeeper barged in, and shouted, "Death Eaters in the Alley! Death Eaters in the Alley!"

There was an uproar. The group immediately went to Dumbledore, asking what to do.

"Go to the Alley and try to protect the people shopping there. Be careful." he said quickly. James nodded and hurried out the door with the group following close behind.

The LC was so crowded with people trying to get away from Diagon Alley, that they didn't notice the 20 or so people racing down from the upper levels with their wands drawn.

When they got to the entrance, they found that it had been sealed. Then, Lily used her knowledge of charms to identify the kind of sealing spell used. After that, an Auror name Moody was able to open it.

The Order members raced inside and saw the sight before them. The Alley was completely empty. The Order crept along, and found something very bad.

When they got to Flourish and Blotts, someone called Marlene McKinnon used a pair of Omnoculars to look inside the window from a distance. There was a Death Eater outside the door so they had looked there. She took the tool from her eyes and reported to Moody, who was the senior Auror there.

"There's at least 20 of them. I'd say about ten hostages. All the bookshelves have been taken down, there is nowhere to hide there. No chance of getting inside." she said quickly.

"We need a decoy. Something to get most of them out of the building. Ideas?"

Melissa, ever the strategist, spoke up. "What if a few of us go down to the other end of the street and throw some Reductor curses at the building? Of course we won't actually hit it for fear of injuring the hostages, but it will make them think the Ministry is here."

Moody looked at her with a bit of respect in her eyes. "Do it. Take Ephilias and Sturgis with you. But it won't be enough. Any more ideas?"

Remus spoke up. "Len, what about that time when we were playing hide and seek, and you used you're camcorder to get passed me?"

Len's eyes lit up. "If we set my camcorder to audio playback, and turn up the volume, we can set it to a sort of accidental sound. Like coughing or sneezing. They'll hear it, and a few will probably come out to check who it was." she said.

"Where is you're camcorder?" Moody asked.

"I left it in my bag back at Headquarters. I'll be back in five minutes." she said and sneaked off. The rest of them made a plan. There were twenty of them in all. Ten would stay out here, and once the Death Eaters come out to see the distraction, they would attack. Then, the other ten would break in and fight off the other Death Eaters and save the hostages.

Then Len came back, and it was agreed that she would be one of the ten to stay outside. With her would be: Melissa, Ephilias, Sturgis, Dedalus Diggle, Lily, Mrs.Potter, Frank Longbottom, Alice Prewet and Edgar Bones. Going in would be: Moody, James, Sirius, Remus, Mr.Potter, the Prewet brothers, Marlene McKinnon, Benji Fenwick and Dorcas Meadows.

Lily and Len crept to the side of the bookshop. Lily set up the camcorder while Len found the same spot on the tape she had used on Remus. Seven minutes later, the two crept back, Len holding her wand, ready to turn it on.

"Ready? You three (he points to Melissa, Ephilias and Sturgis) go to the far end of the road. You three (he points to Lily, Len and Mrs. Potter) stay here. You four (he points to the others staying outside.) go to the other end of the road. The rest of you are with me." Moody instructed.

Ten seconds later several curses hit the ground and surrounding objects making a lot of noise. Many Death Eaters rushed out and saw the three at the far end of the road. They ran toward them, shouting. After they were dueling, Len turned on her trusty camcorder. The sound of a sneeze rang through the once quiet alley. Three Death Eaters rushed out, and saw the people at the other end of the street. Then, they started dueling. Now, they only needed three more DEs out to give the people going in a fighting chance. Mrs. Potter promptly sent a Reducto spell at a display outside the shop. Two DEs came out. Well that would have to do, because now Lily, Len and Mrs.Potter were dueling. Before the infiltration group left, the boys cast one more glance towards their fighting girlfriends.

"They'll be fine, come on!" Marlene said. They rushed inside, and sent stunners at the alert DEs. There were eleven in the building. Two weren't alert enough to block the spells. Now there were nine.

As James and Sirius started dueling with a few DEs, he saw out of the corner of his eye a DE sneaking up behind his dad. Who was to busy dueling to realize. James quickly stunned the DE he was dueling with, and sent a stunner to the one creeping up on his dad.

"Thanks James!" he shouted. But James couldn't respond, he was to busy helping Dorcas, who had three of them on her.

As they had hoped, There weren't enough of them to attack them all. Remus and Benji were freeing the hostages, and then Remus saw a pile of wands on a table. He grabbed them, and gave them to their owners. Who promptly apparated. But the sound of ten people apparating never went unnoticed. The remaining DEs saw their danger, and apparated out.

The inside team ran out, and found it was the same outside. Sirius went to Melissa right away, as she was sporting a burnt arm, due to a fire curse sent at her. There were no other injuries, everyone else was just exausted.

They headed back to Headquarters, and Melissa's arm was treated by the Warden from Hogwarts. She apparently didn't fight much, but just helped the injured after a fight.

"You all did very well. Luckily the Ministry just got here, and any awkward questions have been avoided. Now I think that that is enough for one night, I suggest you all go home and get some sleep. Mr.&Mrs. Potter, no not you James, I'd like to have a little chat." Dumbledore said as he welcomed them back.

The group shrugged and said goodbye. The sound of them apparating out could be heard from where they were. Dumbledore turned to Mr.&Mrs. Potter.

"Am I right in assuming that you're not as worried about James as you first were?" he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"He is better than we thought. He got rid of a DE sneaking up on me, and helped Dorcas with the ones attacking her. And you're right- he and his friends are a good team." Mr.Potter said.

"Their all smart. Those two girls- Len and Melissa? They came up with the plans to distract the DEs. Lily identified the charm that sealed the Alley, Remus got the hostages out with a little help from Benji, and James and Sirius make an excellent team. I think that they'll all fit in well here." Mrs.Potter added.

"Good. Have a peasent evening." Dumbledore said as he too left.

Sorry about the short chapie, but it's getting late and I want to post before I go to bed. R,E&R!


	25. Title is too long to fit

thanks so much for reviewing everyone. I try to get a new chapie in each night, and I hope you like them.

_**Ch.25, Birthdays, Christmas, and The Return of the Birds.**_

After their first exciting Order meeting, the group had trouble sleeping. They kept on talking in Lily and James' place. Sirius was worried about Melissa. If she had let herself be hit once, it could happen again, couldn't it? He didn't know what he would do if he lost her.

James was thinking along the same lines. Sure, Lily hadn't been hurt, but his aura stone colours wouldn't be nice enough to leave his mind.

Even Remus was worried about Len. He knew she was smart and a good fighter- but if it turned into a scenario where she had to run for it, she didn't stand a chance.

The girls seemed to sense this, because then Lily spoke up. "Listen, we know you're worried about us, but would Dumbledore have asked us to join with you guys if he didn't think we could handle it?" she said, looking at James.

"We know that Lily. We just don't like the idea of-" James was cut off.

"What James is trying to say Lily, is that we can't help but worry about you. We know that you girls are good fighters, and that you can look after yourselves. But I'm sure you're worried about us- and you know we can look after ourselves." Remus said, making sure James didn't screw it up. James gave him a grateful look.

"I should be going. I have lessons tomorrow, and I don't want to be late." Len said, standing up.

"Sure you got all you're homework done Len?" Melissa teased.

"How come all you guys always tease me about that?"

"Because it's fun." Lily said.

With a smile on her face, she stood up and apparated out.

"I better get going too. I have a job interview tomorrow, don't want to be late." Remus said, standing up.

"Good luck." James said. Remus smiled at them, and popped out.

Over the next couple of days, nothing worth mentioning happened. Remus got the job, and the Prophet reported that the Ministry had been able to handle the riot in Diagon Alley. At first the group had been offended, but then Mrs.Potter quietly told them that they didn't put an uproar about something like this, as they didn't want to draw attention to themselves.

Soon the chill of October came, and passed with an Order only Halloween party. It seemed that they did whatever they could to cheer themselves up in these hard times.

A soft blanket of snow fell across the grass as November came in. Len was away at one of her lessons as the group piled in to Lily and James' place. Then Mr.&Mrs. Potter popped into the living room.

"Everything is all set for tonight. When is she expected back?" Mrs.Potter said.

"About three. We'll keep her here for half an hour, then you come in mum and tell us that there is an emergency Order meeting right now." James said. But then Len popped right into the room. Everyone stared at her.

"What? Our last period teacher got the flu, we got out early. Oh hi Mr. and Mrs. Potter, how are you?" Len said as she sat down beside Remus.

James exchanged glances with his parents. Then, his father stuttered, "A-Actually we came to tell you guys that there is an emergency Order meeting right now. We need to go."

Len stood up, a determined look on her face. Remus almost smiled. The rouse was working perfectly.

James' parents had already apparated out, warning the others that there was a change in plans. So, when the group apparated to the LC, the barkeeper let them in and they let Len go up the stairs first.

The moment she opened the door, a group of about 25 people shouted, "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEN!"

Len was so startled that her wand, which was tightly held in her other hand, let out sparks that hit the floor. The group behind her laughed at this, and a flash was taken of her startled face.

"Wh-what?" Len stuttered. But it was plain just what, by the large banner above the large table in the middle of the room. Which, in colour changing letters said, 'Happy Birthday Len!'

"Happy birthday sweetie." Remus said, kissing her on the cheek.

"S-so there wasn't an emergency?" she asked, still startled.

"No there wasn't. We just said that to get you here." Mrs.Potter explained.

"You should've seen the look on you're face, it was priceless!" Marlene said. She and the other girls had become quite good friends.

Then, Dedalus Diggle came through the crowd, and showed them a picture of her startled face. They then laughed at the blush on the real Len.

The party lasted hours. Lily and Mrs.Potter charmed the cake platter to refill itself. They had games, and presents. At the very end, Diggle came up with his camera, and took a group picture.

Then, since everyone was acting a _little_ childish, Sirius decided to start a food fight. That night, everyone left covered with chocolate cake. The platter had been used because it never ends. Of course, James didn't exactly mind, Lily had been dumped with a pitcher of pumpkin juice.

"That," Len said to the group as they descended the stairs, "was the best birthday party ever."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. By the way, what's the time?" Remus asked.

"It's- holy cow! It's 12:45**am!**" Lily said, checking her watch.

"What? Come on Remus, we have to get home. Bye everyone!" Len said as she and Remus apparated out.

The next month passed, and James got worried sick when Lily came back from an Order mission with a bleeding ankle. He voiced his concerns, and they got into a small fight. But soon, the Christmas season evaporated this.

The Order had a huge party at Christmas. Since the LC was too small, Sirius and Melissa volunteered the use of their over-large flat.

The party was magnificent. James and Sirius made a point of hanging mistletoe on every available bit of ceiling. The girls noticed this, and Lily took down about half of it.

Dedalus Diggle seemed to be learning from James, Sirius and Remus. He and the boys were caught trying to spike the punch with Firewhisky. Marlene caught them. After the boys got a scolding from their girlfriends, and from Mr.&Mrs.Potter, Dumbledore stood up.

"I hope you all are having a good nigh-"

But then Billy, the barkeeper, popped in and used magic to magnify his voice.

"Listen up everyone! Our spies have new info that a major attack is planned for Hogsmead TONIGHT! Apparently all muggle-borns and all accotiated with them are gonna be killed! We gotta get over there!"

There was an immediate uproar. No one suspected that Voldemort would be so heartless as to attack on Christmas. But nonetheless, people grabbed their wands and popped out.

When they got to the city, the pops sounded like dynamite in the quiet environment. The Order realized this, and ran for cover as the DEs raced out.

But the DEs weren't the only things there. 20 Dementors glided out of a building to Lily's left.

She felt cold. Very cold. She heard a faint sound. But she couldn't recognize it. Everything was getting so dark...

"LILY!"

Lily barely recognized the voice as James'. She felt herself fall, just as a bright figure chased the Dementors away. Then, she knew no more.

000000000000

Lily woke up in a place she recognized as Sirius and Melissa's flat. The last thing she remembered was the horrible cold and a bright figure. She opened her eyes, and saw she was laying on the sofa, with a blanket over her. She rolled over. The moment she did this however, James saw that she was awake.

"Lily! You're awake!" The moment he said this, all eyes turned to her. She saw that others had injuries. Remus had a nasty cut on his shoulder, and Melissa was bandaging up Sirius' leg. Moody was holding a rag over a bleeding face.

"What happened? Are the people in Hogsmead okay?" she asked groggily.

James looked sad. Finally, he answered. "We were able to save some of the muggleborns in the city." he looked down, "100 dead."

Lily froze. 100 people, dead. "What?"

James explained what happened to her. The dementors, his patronus, the DEs, everything. By the end of it, Lily was speechless. Then, looking grave, Len came over with a large platter of double chocolate cookies for all those affected by the Dementors. Lily took one at James' insistence, even though she felt least of all like eating.

The New Years party for the Order was nothing like the beginning of the Christmas one. Hardly anyone was talking- they were still too caught up in the attack only a few nights ago.

Time passed. January came and went. February came and with a Valentines Day party, it went. Soon, March was upon them, and with it, Melissa's birthday. A large party was planned, and it seemed like everyone found it to be the perfect distraction from the Hogsmead attack.

Every single Order member (minus spies) was there. All night the couples in the group danced and ate and had stuff-the-most-food-in-you're-face contests, and tried to spike the punch, and snogged, and danced and many people got drunk.

The Order headed home, and the boys were 'only tipsy' as Remus said. Obviously someone had spiked the punch, but the girls didn't drink it. Whoever did was clearly a novice at the task, as the smell gave it all away.

At the end of March, the girls were having one of their ever-rarer girls days.

But when Lily sat down, a large er... sound was heard. She looked down at her chair and saw, to her horror, a whoopee cushion. Tied to it was a note.

_April Fools is tomorrow!_

_Love The Marauders._

Lily showed the note to the others. Both stared at it, and then Len spoke up, a rare hint of mischief in her eyes.

"I have the slightest idea that that's a challenge." she said with a smile.

The other girls smiled too. "I couldn't agree more." Melissa said.

"If it's a prank-off they want, I say that that's what their going to get!" Lily said, her fist in the air, the note crushed in her hand.

The next day, James and Sirius met for their Auror lessons as usual. They signed in at the front desk, and entered the classroom. They found that Lily and Melissa were at one of the tables for two, so they wouldn't be sitting with each other today.

"Do you think they'll try to prank us?" James asked as he and Sirius sat down at a desk close to the girls'.

"Oh please. Len has teaching exams to study for, and we have exams too." Sirius said as he sat down.

Near the end of the day, at about 3:30, there was a knock on the door. Their teacher opened it, and in came a very confused front desk security guard.

"Um... I have two packages, one for each Mr.Potter and Mr.Black. The woman that delivered them said it was extremely urgent and she told me to tell them it was from er... _Jamie's_ mother." he said awkwardly.

Everyone stared at James and Sirius, who were blushing. James saw that out of the corner of his eye the girls were silently shaking with laughter.

As the boys took the packages, he walked out the door. Then, James opened his.

He truly wished he hadn't. _Someone,_ had done a very complicated charm and charmed a small TV to float out of the box he was holding. When Sirius opened his, a VCR floated out.

The boys paled as the two muggle devises activated.

The tape of them running around with only swimming trunks on played before the class of mature students.

By the end of it, the entire class was red with trying to hold in laughter. While James was trying to sink into his chair, Sirius took a note out of the box. He paled as he read it, and handed it to James.

_You wanted a prank-off? You got one. The Birds are officially pranking again!_

_Love, The Birds._

_(PS, look beside you)_

James looked to his right with a look of horror on his face. He saw Lily, smiling evilly and waving at him. He looked past her and saw a brown owl with gold talons outside the window, shaking with laughter. He jabbed Sirius in the ribs and he looked the same way.

After they got out, the boys immediately informed Remus about the note. He was a little shocked, but agreed to help them. They handed him the first prank, and he was very cautious with it. He replaced Len's shampoo with the mixture. Sirius did the same with Melissa's, and James with Lily's.

Unfortunately it didn't work. The boys each received a note saying that the Birds weren't stupid enough to have a shower without testing their shampoo/body wash first.

But that wasn't the only method tried. The boys got the girls with colour changing hair charms, finger nail growing hexes, whoopee cushions, everything they could think of that wouldn't phisically harm them. But the Birds matched them prank for prank, everything from buckets of milk over the door, to conjuring an indestructible TV with VCR in the front hall of the Ministry.

But soon their fun ended. Both groups were contacted by members of the Order, they had heard whispers that a late night attack was planned for a small wizarding village in France. So, the group called a sort of unspoken truce, and proceeded with Moody, Marlene, and Sturgis Podmore to meet the operative who heard the tale.

They reached a small pub where the meeting had been arranged. They sat down at a table near the back, and waited for the person to arrive.

After twenty minutes of waiting, the group started to worry. He was late, very late. Just as Moody opened his mouth to speak, a large bang was heard from outside. The group rose to their feet, fearful that their operative might have been captured.

But they weren't quick enough. At least, Lily and James weren't anyway. Both were hit with stunners as the door opened to reveal a ton of DEs. The other seven were no match for them, and soon were stunned.

00000000000

James woke up to find himself on a cold, hard stone floor. It was slightly damp, like a dungeon. Rats could be heard scurrying in the background.

He groaned and rolled over. The moment he did this though, he felt ropes magically bind his arms and legs. He heard a door close, and heard Lily's voice.

"Are you up James?"

"Yeah, but it's going to be hard to sit up with these ropes."

After a bit of struggling, he finally sat up, and was just able to see in the dim torch light of the dungeon they were in. Lily was tied up like the rest, sitting against the dungeon wall. So were Len and Melissa. It looked like he had been the last one to wake up, as the rest were all sitting and tied up.

"Well, from what Moody heard the DEs bragging about, Dolohov was a spy feeding us false info." Marlene told James.

"Forget that now, we need to get out of here." Moody said.

"Yeah, like any of us can squeeze through these ropes! They tied them so hard, they don't seem to care if we loose a hand due to lost circulation." Sturgis said.

"I doubt they do." Sirius said.

Lily caught Len and Melissa's eyes. When Sturgis said that, it was like a light bulb had been lit in Lily's mind.

The girls could tell what Lily wanted, and they did feel they could trust the other people here.

"Do you think that someone's watching us?" Len asked, voicing Lily's last concern.

"No. That DE that tied us up seemed pretty confident after he tied James. I heard him muttering about a hot meal for a reward." Marlene said.

The girls glanced at each other, and Len and Melissa gave the slightest of nods to Lily.

Lily took a deep breath, and started to explain about them being animagus. Moody, Marlene and Sturgis' eyes all widened as the girls told their secret.

"Why didn't you tell us? You have no idea how useful that is!" Moody barked.

"We wouldn't be that good of spies, because I'm the only one that transforms into an owl. Though, gold talons aren't exactly normal." Len said.

"Well what about you two? What do you transform into?" Sturgis asked.

Lily gave a wry smile. "Forget spying with me, phoenixes aren't a normal sight."

"Back at Hogwarts, Len always did anything undercover. Plus, it's not normal to see a raven with black talons." Melissa said.

"Can you guys slip through these ropes?" Sturgis asked.

"What do you think gave us the idea?" Lily said as she and the other girls transformed. They slipped through the ropes, and returned to human form. Then, they quickly undid the other's ropes and walked to the door.

"It's locked pretty tight." Melissa said.

Remus got an idea. He turned to the girls. "Do any of you have a hairpin?"

James smiled as Marlene took one out of her hair. Remus took it and picked the lock.

"How'd you learn to do that?" Len asked.

Remus smiled. "I wasn't a Marauder for nothing. Come on."

"From now on, I'm locking my door with magic." Len muttered playfully as she followed Remus and Moody out.

The group slipped out of the small dungeon and into a narrow hallway. Unfortunately, none of them had their wands with them, so they couldn't even Disolution themselves.

It appeared to be a meal time, because the only DEs they encountered seemed full and were easilly avoided.

They came to a place that resembled a meeting room. There was a large table, and at the head of it was a winged chair. They saw their wands on the table.

They quickly grabbed them, but a DE just had to walk in right then. They stunned him, but he fell on a sort of alarm. The group exchanged horrified glances and raced for where they believed the exit should be.

The group ran off the property dodging every spell shot at them, not bothering to fight back. They then apparated out, but not before Len screamed and fell. They saw the look of horror on Remus' face, and the deep cut on Len's side near her ribs. Remus quickly but gently picked her up while Lily made a port key, since two people couldn't apparate at one time.

There would be a lot of explaining to do.

So sorry it took so long but please tell me if it was worth it!


	26. Tragedy, Classes and Questions

Sorry it took so long, but I got a bit of writer's block. WARNING: The third and fourth paragraph in this chapie are slightly gruesome, a warning for those with extremely weak stomachs. PS. No action this chapie, sorry, but it's going to be sentimental. (YAY) Lot's of LenxRemus. PSS: long chapie, please review. Note: I'm changing the two year teaching training course to a one year training course. I want to get a lot of RxL romance in here, so it's pretty long.

_**Ch.26, Tragedy, Classes and Questions**_

Back in Headquarters, Mrs.Potter was getting very worried about her oldest son being late coming back from a mission. It had been hours, and Dumbledore was five seconds away from telling people to go looking for them, when the entire mission team port keyed into the middle of the room.

As people stood up in shock, and Dumbledore asking for an explanation, James was squished by his mother's bone crushing hug.

"Forget talking now, can't any of you see that Len needs medical attention!" Remus shouted angrily. Everyone's heads turned towards the normally calm Remus. Then, they saw the blood pouring from Len's side. She had gone unconscious.

Madam Pomfrey rushed over to her and examined Len's side, which was covered in blood. "I can't heal this here, and we can't take her to Saint Mungos. Professor-(she turns to Dumbledore) we have to-"

"Go." Dumbledore intercepted.

Remus stood up. "I'm com-"

"Yes yes Mr.Lupin we all know how stuburn you are, you can come."

Suddenly, all of Len's friends wanted to come. Madame Pomfrey refused profusely. She said it would already be strange enough with just two people there. So she, Remus, and a-on-a-stretcher-Len went to Hogwarts.

After all the arguing was done, Moody explained what had happened. None of the people there were able to sleep, so they waited for Madame Pomfrey to come back and tell them if Len would be okay or not.

The team realized that an entire day had passed in their absence. It was nearing midnight and even though none of them had eaten in a _really_ long time, none of them really felt like eating. It was 1 am when the downcast doctor came back into the room. Lily had fallen asleep on James' shoulder, and he gently shook her awake, knowing that she wouldn't want to miss the report on her best friend.

The warden was bombarded with questions.

"Is she okay?"

"What kind of cutting curse was it?"

"Is she conscious?"

"Well this is going to take some explaining. We know what the curse was, it was the _Badwoundious Openous _curse. (sorry, couldn't think of anything creative) which means that her wound will stay open for a very long time, and won't stop bleeding until the wound heals. No, I'm afraid she isn't conscious, and due to the immense loss of blood she has suffered... we don't know... what the future holds." she finished gravely.

The rest of the group stared at her. They had learned about that curse in Auror class, and it was usually used by dark wizards who wanted their victims to suffer greatly before they died. They all started demanding to be allowed to see her.

"Under the circumstances, I suppose you may visit her." she said, and the way she said it did not go unnoticed by Len's friends.

The moment they arrived in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts, they rushed over to the only bed occupied, with the curtains around whoever it was. They stepped inside to find the area inside the curtains had been magically enlarged.

Remus sat on a chair beside the bed, looking deathly pale. His eyes never leaved Len's closed ones, and he didn't even seem to acknowledge the fact that his friends had entered.

Len had been cleaned up. Her hair was still in it's braid, but the only thing that covered her up were the sheets. But that didn't hide the large amount of bandages that were soaked with blood wrapped around her torso. Remus was holding one of her hands.

Remus knew his friends were hoping for some sort of an explanation. He opened his mouth, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't make full sentences.

"Doc said...cut really bad...m-might not make it..." he stuttered. He never took his eyes away from where her's were closed. He could almost feel their gasps of horror, and looks of despair.

James conjured up some chairs, and they all sat down. Remus was right beside Len, and Lily and Melissa were at the other side of the bed. James sat beside Remus, and Sirius at the foot of the bed.

None of them said a word. Time passed, and it was morning. Madame Pomfrey rushed in and shooed them out, telling them that she needed a change in bandages. Luckily it was a class day, so not many students came into the wing. When they asked who was behind the hangings, they were told 'someone who does not wish to be disturbed.'

The others all took a sick day from their classes/jobs and stayed with their still unconscious friend. When Madame Pomfrey came in, she looked at the sad sight before her. Just like a pack of animals, when one of their own was injured or hurt, they all stood by them. Even though she hated to admit it, this was one good thing to come from this. It showed Voldemort that they would always be there for each other. It showed him that they would stay united, no matter how hard the times.

Lily was the first to speak. To her, her voice sounded hoarse, but that's what happens when you don't talk for about a day. "I remember one time when we had just gotten to Hogwarts. I had just found myself an empty compartment. Then Melissa came in."

Melissa smiled slightly and continued the story. "We started talking, but then Len knocked on our door. She said that she couldn't find an empty compartment, and asked if we could share."

Lily continued. "Of course we let her, and we all hit it off. On our way off the train, she had trouble getting her trunk down off the rack. (slight smile) She told us her mom was a worrywart and made her overpack. So, we all, after putting our trunks in the carriage of course, hauled her trunk down, and after that she was barely able to carry it."

Melissa smiled too. "Then someone comes along and tries to kick us out of our carriage. After the fact, we found out he was Lucious Malfoy."

"But we also found out just how loyal our little friend could be. She had barely known us for a day and was already standing up for us. She said no, and then Malfoy called Len and I mudbloods. Of course we had no idea what it meant, so she practically ignored it."

"That was when he got really angry. He called some of his cronies, and tried to force us out. You see, we learned a lot about her that day, including her rare temper." Melissa said with a grin.

"As she got older she learned to control it more but... well you saw what happened in Hogsmead. Anyway Melissa and I made to move out, because we didn't relish getting beaten to a pulp on the first day. But Len stayed on her seat and said no."

"That day we learned what an excellent liar she was. Just as cronie one made to punch her, she looked above his head and pretended to see someone. She shouted and waved 'Ooooh, Professor, I was wondering about the-' and that was when he scampered off like the bug he is, not wanting a detention on the first day." Melissa said, laughing a little.

"I just thought of something." Lily said about ten minutes later. All heads, minus Remus' turned to her.

"If Len could talk right now, I think I know exactly what she would say." Lily said.

"Aside from 'get me out of the Hospital Wing, I fine and don't need to be here'" Remus said. Everyone chuckled at this.

"After that. She would tell us off for acting as if... as if she were already dead." Lily said quietly. Everyone fell quiet.

Remus thought for a moment. Then he realized that Lily was right. Len would tell them all to look at the bright side, and if they couldn't find one to make one up and convince themselves of it. He smiled as he thought this.

"She wouldn't want us to be sulking. She'd want us to live our lives, and look at the bright side. Or, in this case, make one up and convince ourselves of it." he said with a chuckle.

James thought for a moment. Then he stood up, and asked, "I'm going to creep down to the kitchens, anybody want to eat something?" Four heads nodded in agreement.

So James left with Sirius, who wanted to go for old times sake. Melissa decided that she should mail an owl to their Order friends who were waiting to hear about Len's condition.

When they returned, Madame Pomfrey came in and told them nicely but forcefully to go home for a few hours and get some rest. Of course they all refused, but then Madame Pomfrey told them it was Dumbledore's orders. He had temporarily taken the charm off the Hospital Wing that didn't allow apparation, so if she woke up they could come immediately. The group tried hard not to notice the emphasis on the word if.

Remus bit his lip as he apparated to the appartment that he and Len shared. To him it seemed empty, and desolate. By habit he walked into the room that they shared. He found that he couldn't stay there, so he went into the living room... that they shared.

It just wasn't home without her. The way she laughs and her mock scolds. Remus couldn't get her off of his mind. If she really did... go, then he didn't know what he would do.

He glanced at some pictures on the coffee table in front of him. He saw a picture of a Hogsmead trip a few days after Lily had got her parent's death notice. But Lily was laughing her head off in the moving picture. So were Len, Melissa, Sirius and James. He himself had taken the picture, and taken her by surprise. She could always cheer anyone up, even in the hardest of times. He jumped up, startled by the sound of his friends apparating right in front of him.

"Sheesh, you guys want to give me a heart attack?" Remus play-scolded.

"Don't say that Moony! It makes you sound old. Besides, we thought you could use some company." James said nicely, sitting down next to his friend on the sofa.

Remus smiled gratefully. "It's just not the same without her here. It seemed like it was just yesterday that we had just gotten out of James' house, and we had our first dinner here." he trailed off.

Everyone stayed silent for a while. At about midnight they all left him alone with reassurances of seeing her tomorrow. They told him to get some sleep. Which he tried to do, but found his dreams were plagued with screams that sounded oddly like Len's.

In the morning he woke up feeling as if he hadn't slept a wink. He rolled over, hoping to see Len there and hoping it had all been a horrible dream. She wasn't; it hadn't been. He got up and got dressed. He walked into the kitchen and got himself some quick oatmeal. Right after he finished eating, he apparated out, glad it was a Saturday.

When the rest of the group arrived at the Hospital Wing, they weren't surprised to see Remus already there, gazing at Len. Even though it was six am.

A few hours later, the group had been reminiscing about Len when James and Sirius realized how little to eat he probably had had. So they dragged him off to the kitchens, using James' old invisibility cloak. He protested but then realized that Len was unlikely to wake up soon. He sulked off with his friends.

Melissa left to use the bathroom, leaving Lily with their injured friend. Lily sat beside her, not really thinking anything. She then almost had a heart attack when Len's finger moved. Just a twitch.

"Madame Pomfrey!" she shouted. Said person practically ran over. Melissa had heard from the door where she now was, and hurried over too.

"What happened?" MP (Guess who that is) said anxiously. Lily told her.

"Are you sure you weren't just seeing things?" MP asked. Lily said no, slightly offended.

They heard a loud clang as Remus dropped the food he was holding when he saw the crowd hovering over Len. He was over there is a second, dropped cans of food completely forgotten.

"What happened? Is she okay?" he asked quickly, but got shushed by all three women. He was about to think about how rude that was, when he saw her head move and her eyes flutter, then close, flutter, close, and flutter open again.

She moaned, and opened her eyes fully. "R-Remus...what happened?" But then was cut off by Remus kissing her.

When he broke away, he said, "Oh Len I thought I was going to lose you! Thank goodness you're alive!" he said, confusing Len even more.

She tried to sit up. "What h-ahhh." she cried through clutched teeth at the pain in her side. Remus gave her hand a squeeze and explained about how she had gotten hit by the curse. How she had gone unconscious from lack of blood and that she had been like that for almost two days. Then the sound of more dropping food was heard as James and Sirius saw that Len was awake. They had assumed that after being unconscious for almost two days because of being hit with a deadly curse, one probably wouldn't wake up.

But then they were all shooed from the area as Len had to have a full examination, just to make sure she was okay. Remus left reluctantly, with her reassuring him that he could come right back in as soon as she was done.

After they were let back in, which seemed like forever to the group, they all entered to see Len with one of her classic annoyed scowls on her face.

"She said I have to stay in here for a week!" Len complained, then got confused as to why they all burst out laughing.

"What's so funny? I hate hospitals!"

"I guess we've just missed you sweetie." Remus said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

Then they all laughed again as Len commented that she was hungry. So then Madam Pomfrey came over with a tray of food, and walked away. So she didn't see Len's look of disgust. (Has anyone ever had hospital food? It's disgusting.)

Then Remus, James and Sirius went off to the kitchens to get some 'food that won't make me barf' for Len. Lily sat down in Remus' vacant seat.

"He was really worried about you Len." Lily said seriously.

"Why? It's just a cut."

"No Len, you were hit with the _Badwoundious Openous_ curse. You... weren't expected to wake up." Melissa said sitting down on the other side of the bed.

Her expression darkened. "R-really?"

"Yeah. In fact, Madam Pomfrey is contacting Dumbledore right now to try and figure out why all of a sudden you're better." Lily said. But then their little chat stopped as Remus came in the door, very cheerful and with arms full of _real _food.

After they all ate, Len started complaining about being stuck in a hospital. This made everyone snicker when they heard her arguing with Madam Pomfrey. Who went back to her office looking very flustered.

When they went back to Len, she was looking very pleased with herself. They asked her why.

"Because she said that I'll only have to stay for a few more days, after a little... convincing." she said with a huge smile. The group cheered.

A few days passed, and the group visited Len everyday after their jobs/classes. On the first day Remus wasn't there because it was a full moon, but he told Lily and Melissa that he just had to work overtime because of the time he missed.

So when Len could walk again, she was let out of the HW and allowed to come back home. Madam Pomfrey gave her a note saying to her teaching teacher that Len was very sick and was in hospital. Of course she wouldn't be going back for at least a week, but she said it gave her time to study for exams.

The week passed, and Len could go back to her classes. But it was the weekend now, so Len had some planning to do.

One day while Remus was out doing something or another, she invited the rest of the group to plan Remus' birthday party. They decided it should just be the seven of them with maybe a few Order members.

On the actual day, Lily got them all over to her house. James and Sirius were out distracting Remus, so the girls could get the decorations set up.

The house was magnificent. Streamers were hung everywhere and in the sitting room presents were scattered on the floor. Len was baking Remus' favourite kind of cake, and Lily and Melissa were charming things to float around.

Then a few Order members arrived and they all waited for Remus to arrive. They came in, Remus unsuspecting and laughing with James and Sirius about some prank they pulled on the grouchy owner of Flourish and Blotts.

The boys brought him in to the sitting room, where everyone was hiding in the blind spot beside the door. Remus stopped at the pile of presents in front of him.

"Guys..." he asked slowly while people behind him are desperately trying not to laugh.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY REMUS!"

He jumped and almost fell back from turning to see who it was. But at this moment his laughing-herself-crazy girlfriend jumped forward and got a picture of this. She hated to blackmail Remus, and would only use it if the Marauders challenged the Birds again.

"Happy birthday Remmy!" Len said, smiling even more at the scowl from the use of his pet name.

"If you call me that again, I'm going to start calling you Lenny." he said, smiling at her.

"You wouldn't!" she said in mock horror.

"Yes I would!"

"No you wouldn't because I got a picture of you being surprised!" she said and shrieked and ran around the sofa to avoid Remus trying to tickle her.

This ended up in an all out tickle war, in which everyone tickled or hit each other with pillows. This stopped in about ten minutes.

"Thanks a lot you guys." Remus said, sitting with Len on the sofa.

Then, everyone snickered as James' stomach let out a loud rumble. He blushed, and even more at Lily's next sentence.

"Aww, is my little _Jamie_ hungry?"

Now it wasn't just snickers, it was full-out laughter. Then, Len whispered something in Remus' ear that made him smile and look like a five year old.

"Now as I just told Remus, he is the birthday man so he gets his first choice of cake!" Len said, walking into the kitchen and bringing out a very large cake. It also had many little candles on it.

As Remus blew out the candles, he blushed and everyone except Len laughed as only one candle was left. Then, Lily just _had_ to bring up something that made them both blush even more.

"You know, at Len's seventeenth birthday she also had only one candle left. I _wonder_ what co-incidence that could be..." Lily said in a teasing tone.

After getting some cake, and an eating contest between Sirius and Benji Fenwick for Remus' ammusement, and getting a quick non-nausea potion for them because of the rich cake, the girls regretted their mistake to let Sirius and James pick the games.

They enlarged a twister mat, and set Moody in charge of the spinner. The people on the mat were: James, Sirius, Remus, Benji, Lily, Melissa, Len and Marlene.

However, Moody soon said that there was some sort of jynx on the spinner, although that was quite obvious by the position of the couples.

Then a large tripping chain started. Sirius purposely tripped Melissa so she landed on top of him, but then Melissa's arm knocked Benji's, who leg tripped Len, whose foot tripped Remus so he landed on top of her, and Remus' hand tripped Lily's leg so she landed on James.

And during all this ruckus, Marlene slipped away and grabbed a camera. She came back and got a few pictures of them trying to get up, then them trying to come after her, then them falling again, and the cycle went like that for a while. But then she had to leave for more film.

So when everyone had finally gotten up, without a trace of even a smile on Moody's face. So then they started their hunt for Marlene, who was hiding with the film.

They all liked the idea of having a picture like that, but it was funner to make them think that. So they split up, just like their old games to find Marlene. They searched the house from top to bottom, though really only Benji was looking, as all the couples were soon... _distracted._

They found her, but then had to tickle her for information. She had Dissolutioned the camera film, and the group didn't know where. So she soon told them that she wasn't ticklish.

The group gave up looking, and settled down to opening presents. Remus was very happy with what he got, and thanked everyone.

So then everyone headed home, with Remus very happy not to have an empty home again.

Months passed, and Len graduated her teaching class. It was a few days before September, and Len received a letter. She showed it to Remus, while jumping for joy.

_Dear Miss Candel,_

_I am writing to inform you that our old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is retiring in October due to stress. I am aware that this is very short notice, but would you be interested in over taking the teaching position? Details may be discussed at a later date. Please reply as soon as possible._

_Sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonnalge_

_Deputy Headmistress._

"Oh Len that's wonderful!" Remus said, giving Len a kiss.

"I know! Oh I've got to write back right away!" she said, jumping up from the couch for a quill and some parchment. She wrote:

_Dear Professor McGonnagle,_

_I'm sorry to hear that Professor Darikson is retiring, but I would be most pleased to take his place._

_Sincerely, _

_Len Candel_

She sent it off with her owl right away, after letting Remus read it of course. Then, she was just about to finish her breakfast when Lily's head popped in the fire.

"I hate Floo powder... Anyway, how are you guys?"

"Wonderful! I just accepted a job offer for Hogwarts' DADA teacher!" Len said, sitting down by the fire.

"Really?"

"Really!"

"That's wonderful!"

"I know!"

"I got to go tell Mel! Back in a sec!"

Remus laughed at the 20 second conversation she just had. She turned to him with a mock indignant look.

"And what, Mr.Lupin is so funny?"she said.

"Just the fact that I've never seen a twenty second conversation."

"Really? The girls and I have them all the time." she said, suddenly curious.

But then Lily and Melissa popped into the living room. Then, they both shrieked and gave Len a bone crushing hug.

"Uh, girls, I think when Len turns blue that means she needs air." Remus said with a smile. Len was indeed turning blue.

They released her, and demanded to see the letter. She handed it to them, and got another bone-crusher.

But by then James and Sirius were wondering where their girlfriends had gone, and they saw them crushing Len.

"Uh, Moony, any idea why Len is being squeezed to death?" Sirius said with a smile.

But by then Len was getting a little tired of these hugs, so she pointed to the window and said, "Oh look! That may be the same owl I got from Hogwarts!"

This got the girls to let go, and rush to the window to see the owl. While they were looking around and asking where the owl was, Len ran to the kitchen, the boys were turning red from not laughing.

When the girls turned around, they scowled at the shaking boys. Then, they looked to where Len was once.

"Did she just lie to us?" Lily asked.

"I think she did." Melissa said.

They both paused for a moment, and then, "LEN GET BACK HERE!" they both shouted, ignored their rolling-on-the-floor-in-laughter boyfriends/friends.

The girls eventually found her, and agreed not to give her any more crushers. Meanwhile, Remus was explaining what had happened. When the girls marched Len back into the living room, James and Sirius congratulated her.

After a congratulatory lunch, because by the time the girls had done everything it was that time, Len got another letter from Hogwarts asking what book she wanted set.

"Hmm... well I've always though that _Defense for Defenders _Volumes 1-3 would be good for teaching. Say... vol. 1 for first to third years, vol.2 for fourth and fifth years, and vol.3 for the sixth and seventh." Len said, telling the others as she scribbled on a piece of parchment.

"You really have this all thought out, don't you?" Remus asked, a smile on his face.

Len smiled back. "I've imagined teaching for years. Now, I actually get to do it!" she said happily.

So a few months passed, and then Len set out for her first teaching lesson, very nervous.

So how do you like it so far? The next part of this story is going to be told from the view of the Junior Marauders. check earlier chapies if you don't remember. Ha! I bet I really got you thinking that this would be all for this chapter! Well to bad for you, there's lots to come!

As students filled up the Great Hall, they looked to the Head Table to see who their new teacher would be. Personally, Zach, Cody and Rob were thrilled at the prospect of a new and un-suspecting teacher to prank. They were quite proud of being part of convincing their old Prof. to retire. So, when they entered the hall, they were as perplexed as everyone else to see the chair empty.

Dumbledore stood up. Silence fell in the hall. "Now I can see that our new Defense-"

Then, he stopped and looked at the side door, to where a blushing Len was standing.

"Sorry I'm late Professor!" Len said, trying to act cheerful when she had just set a bad example.

"That's quite all right Professor Candel. Please, sit down." Dumbledore said, gesturing to a vacant seat.

The Junior Marauders (JM) stared. They recognized her as the girlfriend of one of their mentors. Meanwhile, other people from the year that still remembered her were whispering like crazy. But the people who didn't recognize her just whispered as the rumor about her going to Hogwarts a few years earlier spread.

Len sat down, and waited while Dumbledore gave a speech about how she would be taking over. Meanwhile, the JM started talking.

"Remember her? She was Remus Lupin's girlfriend!" Rob said.

"Do you think she still is?" Cody asked.

"We could ask her. But anyway we can't prank her! She would tell the Marauders!" Zach, who was like the equivalent to James, said. The boys still idolized them, especially after they saw in the school records how many detentions they had got.

They continued talking, until it was the almost time for class. They hurried on right after Cody (Sirius equivalent) finished eating. They had their first class for DADA, and they didn't (surprisingly) want to miss it.

When they got in, they (surprisingly) took seats at the front of the class. They took out their books, quill, parchment and wands. Everyone knew that when a new teacher arrives, they are sort of obligated to tell a little about their teaching habits.

So, when Len came in, the class fell silent from it's whispers at once. She put something on her desk, and turned to face the class.

"Now I don't know what you're expecting, but I realize that I'll have to earn you're respect. I have no problem with that. But I still remember what it was like to be a student, so I know the classic excuses for being late and such. I don't like to give out homework, but I will. Those who misbehave (the JM lean forward) will simply be given extra homework. I don't think making a student miss something like Quidditch is a way of convincing them not to cause trouble. Now if you'll turn to page..." Len said, trying to sound confident.

The JM were all smiling. An easy going teacher who they know, who doesn't believe in detentions, and doesn't enjoy giving homework. This was a dream come true!

Surprising the class, the JM actually behaved in all of Len's classes. But later on that day after lunch, they got in trouble for tossing Dungbombs in the library. Meanwhile Len just happened to run into Filch escorting the three to his office.

"Hello Argus, how are you?" she asked innocently.

Filch scowled. In his mind, she was still a student. "Just escorting these three troublemakers to my office, to see what I can get Professor Dumbledore to make them do..." he went on evilly.

Len pretended to just notice the three miserable looking kids. "Oh I was just looking for you three! (she turns to Filch) I was trying to find them so I can give them all the piles of homework that they missed for missing class today. I only let that pass because Cody here ate too much and got sick. They all visited him in the HW. Isn't that sweet? (Filch looks disgusted. Kids look hopeful and confused) Anyway why don't I take them off you're hands Argus, it'll take a while to go through their homework." Len lied perfectly.

At the thought of piles of homework, Filch looked down, calculating the possibilities. Just as he was doing this, Len gave the kids a quick wink, telling them to play along.

"And how about for the Dungbomb incident, they clean up my classroom too? These children can be so messy." Len said.

"(Peeves starts bouncing around.) Very well. And if you see the Bloody Baron, be sure to tell him that Peeves is up to no good."

Len looks at the kids, and tells them (in a very stern sounding voice) to come with her. They flinch at this, thinking that maybe she would mess up her classroom then make them clean it or something.

When they turned to corner, Len turned to face them. "Do you really think I'd make you do something like that? Besides, my classroom is already clean. I may be you're teacher now, so you can't tell anyone that I got you out of trouble okay?"

They nodded, but then Filch turned the corner. Before she went into stern teacher mode, she risked a quick wink at the boys.

"And for that one Mitchel, you boys get to clean my office too! Now come along." Len said, ushering the boys around the corner in the direction of her office.

"Now I have one piece of advise for you boys. **Don't get caught.** I won't get you out of trouble anymore. I'll have to have a talk with the others. Now go, before Filch comes in expecting to see you working!" she said once they reached their office. They left, very confused.

"What was that all about?" Cody asked.

"I think she just got us out of trouble." Rob said.

"What do you think she meant by 'I'll have to have a talk with the others'? though?" Zach asked.

"Duh! It means she is still with Remus Lupin! She's going to tell on us!" Rob said.

All three boys moaned. They still idolized the Marauders as the best troublemakers. Having them hear they got caught was... bad.

But at their next lesson, which was later in the week, they entered the class. They sat at the back, not wanting Professor Candel to get in trouble for favouring them, even though it was obvious.

But when Len came into the classroom, she wasn't alone. The boys gasped as James Potter, leader of the original Marauders, came in behind her.

"Now I'm sure all of you who aren't blind have noticed that we have a guest today. This is James Potter, and he is an Auror in training. Some of you may remember him from _**way back when** _he was at this school." Len teased.

"Hey! We were in the same year!" James protested.

"Anyway," Len said, completely ignoring James, "he is here to talk about some of the simpler jynxes that he sometimes uses. Now, I have time to mark these seventh year questions." Len said, holding up a small pile of papers. She flashed James a teasing smile, while he gave her a plain the-only-reason-I'm-here-is-because-my-girlfriend-is-you're-best-friend.

So James went on, purposely monotonusly just to annoy Len, and soon about half of her class was asleep. He smiled at her, and she scowled. She then, to the JM's interest, held up her wand and made it make a loud bang. The class woke with a start.

"And _**that** _is what happens when you fall asleep in my class. Now I'm going to give you some homework, and those who were listening to Mr.Boring over here should be able to do it in about ten minutes. Class dismissed. Oh, and (insert last names of JM's) please stay after class." Len finished, smiling over-sweetly at James.

Len sat back down at her desk and continued to mark papers, even when the three came up.

"Um, ma'am, didn't you want to see us?" Rob asked.

"Hm? I'm sorry boys, I don't remember (she winks) telling anyone to do that. Why don't you go get some lunch?" Len said in the same over-sweet voice.

As the boys turned to leave, very confused, they came face to face with James.

"Hi boys, how are you?" he said cheerfully.

"Uh... good." Zach answered, wondering at being treated like a good friend.

"Listen boys, Len told me that you got caught the other day. Well don't worry about it, the Marauders and I got caught plenty of times before we made **_this_**" he said as he pulled out a piece of parchment.

"Since we don't go here anymore, we don't need it. We thought it may help you get caught less." James said.

At their very confused faces, he added, "It's a map of Hogwarts. You tap it with you're wand and say 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'" and he did so. He watched their faces as they saw lines spread out on the map.

"Wow..." Rob said.

"When you're done with it, you tap it with you're wand and say 'Mischief Managed!'. Every single secret passageway in and out of the school is on here. We used it to hide from Filch many times. It also lets you see where people are." James instructed, pointing to where they were.

He handed it to the boys, but then Zach looked cautiously at Len.

"Don't worry. Hey Len! (Len looks up) did you hear anything?" James asked.

She smiled. "Nope, I've been temporarily deaf for the past ten minutes."

The boys' faces lit up, but then James pointed to a dot on the map. "Hide it, quickly! McGonnagle is coming this way!"

Zach put it carefully in his pocket and turned to James. By the time McGonnagle came in, he was acting like they had asked him a question.

Months passed. There was a large Order celebration on Len's birthday. At one point, many hadn't believed she'd make it, so the party was big. Plus Melissa lost her part of the bet. (Check earlier chapies)

Christmas came and went, with only a few missions for the group. When they arrived at a hall rented by the Order for the New Years party, Len told the other girls something.

"The other day he just left, said he was going shopping, and comes back with no shopping! Has that ever happened to any of you?" Len asked, slightly worried.

"Len, how could you think something like that? Maybe Remus just bought you a gift, and didn't want you to see it?" Marlene said.

Len smiled. "You're right. I'm just over-reacting. Oh, who made the triple chocolate cookies?" she asked, and headed over to the table.

Lily. Melissa and Marlene looked at each other for a moment, then, at the exact same time, they shouted, "Ten galleons on tonight!"

Len was taking a walk around a nice little garden. She looked up at the moon, which was a crescent-far from being full. It was a perfectly cloudless night, and all the stars were visible. She sat down on a bench, and looked at the stars. That is, until a pair of hands covered her eyes.

"Guess who?" a voice said from behind her.

Len pretended to think. This made the person chuckle, and take his hands away. He sat down beside her, and they both gazed up at the stars for a few minutes.

"Two years." he said.

"Two wonderful years." Len corrected.

"Listen, Len, I've been thinking. And I've wanted to do this for a while, but I'm just to chicken." he said with a smile.

Len looked at him curiously. "And what would that be?" and she was right- she didn't have a clue.

"Erm..." he wasn't usually this nervous, Len thought.

"Well?" Len asked softly.

He bit his lip and reached into his pocket. What he took out was to small to see when he covered it with his hand.

"I love you Len, more than anything or anyone in the world. When you got hit with that curse last summer- I felt that if you really did die, that my life would never be the same. (he gets down on one knee and hears Len gasp) I will always love you. Lenilah Candel, will you start the new year as my fiance? Len, will you marry me?" he asked, hopefully. He held a gorgeous diamond ring in his hand.

Len felt tears in her eyes. "Of course I will marry you Remus Lupin!" she said joyfully as she flung her arms around him.

Okay, that really is it for this chapie. Please review, this is my longest chapter yet! I'm so happy!


	27. Once

YAY!Thank you for all you're wonderful reviews! I feel so confident now! A special thanks to gat nat nat and Trocle for reviewing so much during the course of this story.

_**Ch.27, Once**_

Remus looked at her with a gleeful expression. "Really?"

"Of course! Did you really think I'd say no? I love you!" Len said, still in his arms. They broke apart so Remus could put the ring on her finger. Then they had a nice kiss.

They headed in, and saw that they had absolutely no attention.

"Wait a moment, I want to go drive the girls crazy." Len whispered in his ear.

She walked over to her friends, who were at the refreshment table. She had her hands folded to hide her ring. She walked over with a dreamy expression that she knew would make the girls ask.

She was right. "Oi, Len! Why are you so happy?" Melissa asked.

"Isn't someone allowed to be happy?" she answered back, still dreamy.

"Not when we don't know why! Spill!" Lily mock-scolded.

"Hmmm..." Len said, pretending to think.

"Come on! What happened?" Marlene asked.

Len continued to think, while Remus was watching with a smile on his face.

About five minutes passed, and Len was still driving them nuts.

"Come on Len, spill! Or else we're going to have to think that you did something!" Melissa said in a teasing voice.

"Do you guys like alliterations?" Len asked, still examining her nails.

The girls stared. "What on earth does that have to do with the topic at hand?" Lily asked.

Then, Len decided to hold up her hand that had the ring. "What do you guys think of Len Lupin?"

The girls stared, then shrieked. This made the boys look over at their girlfriends, after Remus had told them that he proposed the her. They were congratulating him, and then they heard their girlfriends/friends shrieking, and knew that they had been told too.

Then, Len got completely crushed by three very excited girls giving her a bone-crushing hug. Then, when Len convinced them that a normal human does need oxygen, Melissa started chanting, "I won the bet! I won the bet! 10 galleons to me! 10 galleons to me!"

But then Remus made the mistake of coming over. The girls all gave him bone-crushers too. Then, Len saved her fiance from the wrath of her friends when they were excited.

The night continued, with the girls marching Len and Remus up to the small stage to announce their engagement. Everyone congratulated them, but really Remus and Len wanted to be alone.

However, it was past midnight, and the couple found out that midnight had struck the very same moment that Remus proposed. (cliche, I know but I like them) So people were starting to drift off. Remus and Len _finally_ got some alone time and walked out into the garden. Len's head rested on Remus' shoulder, and neither could be more content. (awww)

The next day Len left for Hogwarts early to escape her friends coming over in the early hours of the morning to start planning. She thought that it was ironic that her friends acted more excited than she did.

She entered the class in a very good mood. She sat at her desk while the classroom filled up, and when everyone was quiet she stood up.

"Now before we start the class, you should start calling me Professor Lupin. I got engaged last night, and I will not be keeping the name Candel. (cheers from the JM) Thank you. Now quill away please, and turn to page thirteen where you will find instructions to the Impediment Jynx. Read through it for about twenty minutes, then we will move the desks and practice it." Len instructed, and hid behind a book that had a bridal magazine behind it.

Throughout the day, other Professors walked into the class to give her their congrats and well-wishes. During lunch, she quickly Flooed home, to write a letter to her parents. She was very glad that they liked Remus.

A few days later, just as she started her class, Professor McGonnalge came in, and whispered something in Len' ear. The JM looked on as she got a horrified expression on her face, and whispered something back.

"Homework: practice the Impediment jynx. Class dismissed, don't get into trouble." she said before practically running out of the room, leaving a very confused class.

"What was that all about?" Rob asked.

"Something bad. Did you see the look on her face?" Cody said.

"We have a free period, why don't we follow her?" Zach asked.

"I don't know, she told us not to get into trouble..." Rob said.

"Yeah, but we all know she wasn't talking about us, remember how she helped up with the map and Filch?" Cody said.

"Come on!" Zach said as he scooted into a corner and took out the map. They saw her walking very fast with McGonnagle and Dumbledore down the steps on their way to what looked like Hogsmead. They took a quick passageway to cut her off at the Entrance Hall.

They hid behind one of the hourglasses and watched her leave. They overheard a snippet of conversation.

"...how many?" Len asked.

"...didn't have time to count. About 20..." McGonnagle answered.

"...are on their way I assume?" that was Dumbledore.

That was all they heard before the door closed. The boys quickly followed. They had to jog to keep up as Hagrid joined them. The boys got slightly worried at how they all (minus Hagrid) had their wands out, and were acting very serious. As they got closer they heard more.

"How were you able to get James, Sirius, Lily and Melissa out of Auror class? It will surely create suspicion if they leave, and... are seen...?" Len was asking Dumbledore.

"I have my ways. Now we must make haste, before any of the... are... ." he answered.

They couldn't hear any more since the January wind carried the words out of range. Soon they arrived at the gates, and the teachers walked through, followed by the JM.

The boys froze as they saw the scene at Hogsmead. There were dead bodies everywhere. They looked around and saw that their teachers had hid. They did so behind the nearest building. Loud pops were heard as many more people apparated in. The boys looked around the corner and saw The Marauders, Len's friends, and several wizards that they didn't know. They inched forward, but before they did, they saw all the wizards look in the direction that they had last seen Len in, and out came an owl.

The owl was obviously trained to spy on whoever was their enemy, because it flew to the largest building on the street. It landed on the windowsill, and the people inside didn't take any notice of it. It flew back, and they thought that it landed. They sneaked forward a bit, and heard what their teacher was saying.

"At least fifty... 25...I'd guess. All of them are... No way to take them in the building, to squished." They heard her report.

"Len, camcorder?" an old grouchy person asked.

They didn't hear anything else, so they guessed that she had nodded. They heard their Headmaster next.

"10 of us go over there... curse, and... them. You lot come with me to get... . But first we'll need a good 40 of them out. We need a big distraction. James, have you by any chance got any Filibuster's Fireworks with you?" he said.

While the boys were wondering what was going on, they heard rummaging and a "yep." Soon, Dumbledore was speaking again.

"You six come out as soon as Marlene gives the signal. Stay hiding until then. I'll help with the distraction. The moment enough... are out of the building, race in, take care of the rest, and help the... . Now set the Fireworks if you please James."

He did so, because the moment later there was a large bang. Actually, make that several large bangs. They heard running, and looked around the corner again. They froze.

10 Death Eaters had ran out of the building. They had their wands out, and saw the people sending Reductor curses at the street and them. They ran and started dueling. Then, more fireworks went off, and countless more ran out.

After some more distractions, the JM saw the Marauders and the girls run into the building. They decided, after much debate from Rob, that they would follow them and see if they could help.

NORMAL POV

As the group raced into the building, they immediately started dueling the DEs. Nobody noticed the dark figure watching from the stairs, with red eyes and a body that radiated evil.

Len turned as she heard the door open again. What she saw made her go pale. She ran forward, and pushed the scared boys into a corner.

"**_What_** do you think you're doing here? Can't you see it's dangerous? I'm taking you out of here right now. When you get back to Hogwarts, don't tell anybody where you were, and don't tell anybody what you saw! Got it? Good. **_Come on!"_** she said very urgently. She grabbed their arms and ran out of the store, and into Honeydukes. She pushed them into the cellar, and ran off. The boys were scared into instant obedience.

But what they didn't hear was the sound of Len getting stunned, and brought back to the building, where the rest of her stunned comrads were, with the rest of the hostages.

The group was all awake, and frowned as they dragged in an unconscious Len. They thought that at least she had been able to escape.

"Sorry guys. I'll explain later." Len said sadly.

But then she noticed something. "Where's Lily?" she asked, but so their guard didn't hear.

"Voldemort took her. James isn't going to be happy when he wakes up." Sirius said darkly. They didn't know what was going on, and that really bothered the group. Lily could be dead for all they know.

Finally, James started to come to. He sat up groggily and was tied up right away.

He looked around the small room that they had been stuffed in, and his eyes widened as he realized who was missing. "Where's Lily?" he asked his friends.

"Voldemort took her. We... don't know what has happened." Sirius told him.

James' face paled. "W-What? He took her? Why? Only Dumbledore can tell stuff about the Order." James said, downcast.

They heard a distant scream. This made James' ears perk up, and he said he recognized that scream as Lily's.

They all looked at Len as if she was crazy when she smiled.

"Well, that means that she's alive!" she said.

This made James perk up. After making sure they weren't being watched, Melissa and Len transformed and slipped out of their ropes. They untied the others, and Remus used a hairpin from Len to open the door. The DE hadn't bothered to lock it with magic, because they didn't have their wands with them anyway. So, with a distinct feeling of dejaveiw, they crept out of the room, down the hall, and opened the door a crack.

They came into a sort of lounge. A green carpet led up to a throne-like chair. And sitting on it was a person with red slit eyes, and gave off a feeling of evil and fear. He had his wand out and it was pointing at a red-headed girl who was crouched on the floor, screaming in agony.

They all had to control James from bursting in there. Then, Len risked a quick peek at another room. It was a meeting room, just like the one from before, and there were their wands. But the problem was, there were 5 DEs in the room too. They had convinced James that running in there unarmed was stupid. Len, the smallest, crept in, and was glad that the DEs were in the middle of a very loud game of Exploding Snap. She quickly grabbed their wands, and ran out. Luckily they were playing to much to notice.

So, they had their wands, now all they needed was Lily. They opened the doors again, and heard what he was saying to her.

"I'm getting tired of this game. Tell me what I want to know, or else I'll kill that boyfriend of yours." Voldemort said with a sneer.

"And I keep telling you that I don't know! Or is it not reaching that thick skull of yours?" Lily shouted back.

"_Crucio."_ Lily tried hard not to scream as the white hot knives stabbed her all over. But she failed miserably. As she screamed, James felt himself losing control again. The others saw this, and quickly made a plan.

Just as Voldemort was about to call for someone to take her back to the room and bring Potter, a Reducto curse sped through the room and hit his chair. It turned to dust. But he had stood up just in time, but was slightly slowed down by tons of stunners sent his way.

James ran to Lily and picked her unconscious form up lightly. Her wand was in his pocket with his. He ran out, but not before feeling a desire to go back and bow before him. A snakelike voice in his mind told him to, but a voice that sounded like his own said 'No! You have to get Lily out of here!' He realized that he was under the Imperious Curse. His friends saw his struggles and dragged him out.

They heard Voldemort yell for DEs to come, but those who did were to surprised to think much before several stunners were shot at him/her. They ran out of the building, and because of the distance the curse wore off of James, but it had taken such a mental toll that he collapsed from exhaustion.

Sorry it's so short, but I wanted to update before the night was over. It's 11pm here, and I'm tired.


	28. Plans and Fairs

I'm sorry about the short chapie last time, but as I said, I wanted to post before the night was over. Anyway, R,E&R!

_**Ch.28, Plans and Fairs**_

When the group portkey-ed into Headquarters, they were fortunate that there were other people there. The Order members saw that Lily and James were unconscious, and rushed to help.

Soon both Lily and James were settled on sofas, with blankets on them. Remus and Sirius explained what happened, while Len and Melissa watched their two friends. Then, MP entered, and examined the pair. She said that Lily's body was in shock from being tortured by the Cruactis Curse (can someone please tell me how to spell that properly?) but should wake up soon. But James was another matter. She said that his mind had been under so much strain from resisting the Imperious curse for so long that it might take him a few days to wake up.

"Personally I'm surprised that he was able to resist it at all. You-Know-Who has to be good at the Unforgivable curses. But I suspect that he will have quite the headache when he wakes up." she had said. The others were just happy that both their friends _would_ wake up.

"You know, we haven't even started planning." Len said, as she and Remus watched the breathing bodies of their friends.

Remus put his arms around her. "We didn't get engaged a week ago, and you want to start planning the wedding. What will I do with you?" he asked playfully.

"Oi! Lovebirds, stop flirting! Len, Professor McGonnagle sent over these papers, she said that the seventh years were getting curious about their marks!" Sirius said as he came over with a large pile of papers.

Len groaned and buried her head in the side of Remus' neck. He laughed and started teasing her.

"Come on Len, do you're homework like a good girl!" he said in a teasing voice. She sat up properly and playfully hit him on the forehead, receiving a fake and very childish, "Owww..."

"Aww, do you want me to kiss it better?" she asked in a baby voice. Remus grinned and nodded.

Melissa rolled her eyes, and shoved the papers into Len's stomach, getting a glare of annoyance. But soon her eyes went wide, looking at a spot behind her.

Lily was just opening her eyes, and trying to sit up. Both Melissa and Len pushed her back down onto the sofa.

"Ow! What was that for?" she asked irritably.

"Lily! You're back!" both girls cried, after making sure she wouldn't have time to get up again, and gave her hugs.

"When did I leave?" she asked sarcastically. Both girls scowled at her.

"What happened anyway? And where is James?" Lily asked, suddenly curious.

"Well, Voldemort took you and tortured you with the Cruactis curse. You're body was in shock from being hurt so many times." Len explained.

"Ok, but that doesn't tell me where James is." Lily said calmly.

"Er... Lily, while we distracted Voldemort, James got you out. But then, while we were trying to leave, Voldemort put the Imperious curse on James." Melissa said.

"We don't know what he tried to get him to do, but the strain put on his mind from resisting the curse for so long made him pass out as soon as we were far enough away for it not to take effect anymore. (Len moves aside so Lily can see James on the couch across from her) (Lily gasps) And, as you can see, you woke up first." Len concluded.

Lily was pale. She lay down on the sofa, and tried to let it sink in.

So the rest of the evening passed, but then the group decided to help Len mark the seventh years' textbook questions.

"Boy, this person isn't too bright. In an answer to "Explain why the Dissolution charm is often used by Aurors". He answered "Because they like charms with long names."" Remus said, looking at a paper.

"That would probably Malory Macktinson. She spends most of her time gazing at the back of Mark Parker." Len said as she completed yet another paper.

"And this person. "In detail, explain what a werewolf is." and he put "Bad." boy, that kid has got to be thick." Lily said as she looked at the person's name. "I can't read his name."

"Ben Toene. He's a Slytherin, gets into trouble, doesn't pay a hint of attention in any of my classes, and is so thick that if a broom came crashing into him, he would still be standing without a scratch." Len said, not even looking up from Carter Spinnet's paper.

Everyone laughed. They kept on marking papers, even when new ones arrived fresh from Hogwarts. Len continually amazed the group with the fact that she remembered all her student's names.

Soon, they got to the third year papers. This reminded Len of something. "Hey guys, I never got a chance to tell you why I disappeared at Hogsmead. Guess which students I found to have followed us?" she said.

The response was unanimous. "The Junior Marauders."

"Yep. I got them into the Honeydukes passage and made them promise not to tell anyone what they saw. Luckily the DE that caught me thought I had just gone in there to hide, and they didn't discover the passage. Oh, here is Zach Smithson's paper on the Impediment jynx. It's funny how much they resemble you guys when you were at school. (she looks at Remus and Sirius) Zach and Cody copy all their notes from Rob, while Rob never gets caught so that he's a good candidate for a prefect. Meanwhile, Zach and Cody are in a competition to see who can beat Sirius and James' detention record first." she said with a laugh.

"Starts memories up, doesn't it?" Melissa said.

They kept on marking and reminiscing, until, at about one am, James started to stir.

"Uh..."

However, he was cut off from 'uh...' ing anymore, as Lily flung her arms around him.

"James! You're okay!" she yelled, giving him a kiss that kept them occupied for a few moments.

"What happened? The last thing I remember was getting out of that building in Hogsmead..." James said, holding Lily close to him.

The others explained how he passed out. After insisting that he was okay, he got up, and after disappearing with Lily for a few moments, came back out to join the marking party.

_**WARNING: The upcoming part contains subject matter that is not suitable for children.**_

With all six of them working on it, they finished much quicker. Half an hour later, each group returned to their homes. When Lily and James got back, he turned to her.

"You worried me back there. At Hogsmead, I mean." he said, putting his arms around her.

Lily lightly kissed his lips. "You worried me too. Not many people can resist the Imperious curse for long without suffering sever mental damage. It just shows how stubborn you are." she said.

They started kissing quite passionately, and soon both realized exactly what the other wanted. James got sad when Lily broke away. But then she whispered in his ear, "It's late. If we do this _now_, then we'll be to tired for Auror class." she then gave him a mischievous smile, and walked off, swaying her hips a little for James' viewing pleasure.

James did have to admit, he was disappointed at the fact that Lily wouldn't be with him tonight, but her emphasis on the word 'now' indicated that she was indeed willing, but tired. Just like he was. So, he walked off to bed, in a separate room, opposite sides of the hall, and looking forward to the weekend. He knew that when Melissa took her shopping, she got Lily to buy some... _nice_ clothes.

_**Warning over.**_

When Len arrived at Hogwarts the next day, she immediately went over to where the JM were sitting in the Great Hall.

"Would you three mind coming to my office?" she said.

All three boys looked at her. They knew that this would be about what they had seen the other day, so they got up without an argument. They followed their teacher to her office, and stepped inside.

They had expected to be alone. But Dumbledore, McGonnagle, and several other teachers were crowded in the newly decorated office. The walls were mostly bare, except for the large bookshelf in the corner. The desk was covered in pictures of her and her friends. It seems that Dumbledore had conjured up a chair for everyone, including the JM. They knew this because they had been told to sit down in three chairs in front of the desk.

"Welcome boys. I assume you know why you're here?" Dumbledore asked.

The boys nodded.

Dumbledore smiled. "And then I can assume that no one has been or ever will be told about what you saw?"

The boys nodded yet again.

"Good. Have a nice day." Dumbledore said as he and all the other teachers, except Len, swept from the room.

"Now boys, that's not the only reason I asked you here. (She looks at the boys' startled looks) I have been told that you have been seen using hexes a lot. And improperly." Len said, inwardly smiling at their nervousness.

"Professor we didn't mean to turn all the Sly-" Zach started.

"Hexing Slytherins? No no no, that's not what I'm talking about. But I was told that you couldn't even do a simple disarming spell properly. Let alone a colour hex. Now I'm adding an extra two inches to you're essay on the proper wand techniques for a normal hex. Oh, and off the record, (she turns her head to Zach) you need to work on you're lying skills. You three are dismissed. (Cody's stomach growls loudly) And I suppose that since it's my fault you missed breakfast, here." she said as she conjured up a stack of toast.

"Well, _that_ went better than expected." Zach said, munching on a piece of toast.

"Yeah! I can't wait until the year when we're taught to conjure up food. I would conjure up cake, brownies, bacon,..." and so the boys went to their first class while Cody rambled on about all the food he would conjure up, if only he knew how.

As Zach lied about the reason for their lateness, after they got a detention for attempting to lie to a teacher, Rob whispered to Zach, "Professor Lupin was right. You're a terrible liar."

Days passed, and finally, after what felt like forever on James' part, it was the weekend. The most I'll say is that the couple slept in a lot.

Meanwhile, Len had purposely not assigned any homework because she and Remus were planning on working on wedding plans. Of course, they didn't let Lily or Melissa know this, because it would get them hyper again.

They decided that since Len said her family was very happy for her, and even if they tried a small wedding, they all would come anyway. So, it would have to be outdoor. They spent the next hour counting and Len remembering the names of all of Len's uncles, aunts, great uncles and aunts, grandparents, cousins, and by the end of it, Remus was very glad that his family was very small. The overall number was: 10 on her dad's side that was an absolute must to invite, and a good 50 on her mother's side. Then, there were close family friends. And, close relatives' friends that she would feel guilty if she didn't invite. Then, there were her friends. It was going to be a big wedding.

At about three pm, (they had started about 9 ish) they finally finished all the invites for Len's side of the family. Remus' didn't take nearly as long, as most of his family had disowned him after he was bitten. But then, Lily and Melissa popped in, and saw the invites.

"Aww... I was hoping that we would be able to help with the planning..." Melissa said sadly.

Len caught Remus eye. Remus cleared his throat and said, "Well, there is a way you can help with the planning..."

Both girls perked up "Yay! What can we do?" Lily asked, excited.

Len grinned her evil grin. So did Remus. They simultaneously pushed about 100 envelopes towards the girls and said, "Start sealing."

Within ten minutes both girls were complaining about their tongues being dry.

"It weels wike a wesert." Lily attempted saying as she prodded her tongue with her finger. (translation: It feels like a desert)

All the while, Remus and Len are turning red with holding in laughter.

"What's woe wunny?" Melissa asked. (translation: what's so funny?)

"Well, I hate to ruin you're fun, but why don't you just use magic?" Len asked, and then both she and Remus started laughing hysterically.

The girls scowled and took out their wands. They re-moisturized their tongues, and started to seal the envelopes with magic.

"You know, that's a good detention idea. Making students seal a hundred envelopes without magic." Len pondered aloud.

"And here I thought you didn't like detentions..." Remus started, wrapping his arms around her.

"Oh, I don't. But that doesn't mean I can't suggest it to the other teachers huh?"

Over the next few days, many students at Hogwarts (mainly members of the JM) were drinking a lot of water. March came and went with Melissa's birthday, and a huge celebration. But rumor has it, that Sirius had a nice romantic dinner for her when she got back from the party.

But when the warmer weather came around, Remus and Len had almost all the planning done. It was going to be in mid August, around the 15th. They had their cake and everything set, and thanks to Dumbledore, they would be allowed to have it on the Hogwarts grounds. The only thing left to do was to get their clothes.

But one day in May, at about 4pm, Lily apparated into Len and Remus' appartment and said loudly, "LEN! THE FAIR IS IN TOWN!"

Len came out of the kitchen with a gleeful expression on her face. Of course, it would have to be a muggle fair, wizards didn't have any. Remus came out to find his fiance and her best friend laughing and jumping up and down. Then, Melissa came in and asked what all the fuss over this 'fair' again.

While Lily tried for the umpteenth to explain what a fair was to Melissa, Len tried to explain what it was to Remus.

"It's sort of like a big playground, there are rides and games and stuff, and candy-"

"Candy? Why didn't you tell me there was candy Lily?" Sirius said as he apparated in. She had spent a repetitive Auror class trying to explain to the group with her. Since she was the only muggleborn there, she had to try.

"So, where is this 'fair'?" Remus asked.

Len looked to Lily, who said it was being held in a vacant lot. Then, both muggleborn got some mugglemoney, warned the others for no magic, and dragged them out.

They went to the lot, and the purebloods got their first sight of a fair. The faris wheel and roller coaster got their attention.

So the girls dragged everyone else to the ticket stand and bought those bracelet thingys. They then dragged their friends over to the roller coaster.

"Uh, Lily, are you sure this is safe?" James asked as they got seats in the back row.

"Look at it this way, if we start to crash, we can just apparate out." Lily whispered in his ear so that no muggles would here. This didn't exactly brighten James' mood.

As they started to climb the first hill thingy, the boys and Melissa seemed all right. But then at the fall, when everyone started screaming, they lost it.

"Ahhh! Lily, we're going to crash!" James shouted.

But Lily continued laughing her head off, at her boyfriend who was currently thinking that when a roller coaster went down, it was bad. Soon, Melissa and Sirius joined the yelling. They looked at Lily and Len like they were crazy when they started laughing and having a good time.

Then, they went to the horrid loop. When they were upside down, the boys were all screaming like little girls.

By the end of it, James was holding the bar so hard his knuckles were white, and Remus looked slightly green. But it was Sirius who got most attention because he was still screaming like a girl, even after the ride was over.

Meanwhile Melissa had grasped what Len had told her about roller coasters, and was not nearly as scared, but she still got out of the seat as soon as it let her. Sirius was seen to kiss the ground.

Then, after Len quietly explained what the bumper cars were, Melissa agreed to go on them. So, the girls dragged their still green and screaming boyfriends to the bumper car pit, ignoring the stares they got.

Each person got their own car, and explained the point of it to the boys. James' car was blue, Sirius' was black, (get it?) Remus' was grey, Lily's was red, Melissa's was green, and Len's was yellow.

The boys still didn't fully get it, until Lily's car came crashing into James'. The girls declared a truce, and teamed up on the boys.

The girls' team did have a definite advantage: it contained the only two people who knew how to drive. The girls explained what the different pedals did to Melissa, and told her that the wheel was a steering device.

Soon the boys were so bumped up, that Remus did the smart thing, and asked his fiance if he could call a truce with her and Lily, since they were the ones with most driving experience.

So, James soon followed Remus' lead and called a truce with the girls. But Sirius would not go 'groveling' to girls so easily. Then, the other five ganged up on him, since there was no one else left to attack. The different coloured cars circled the black one, like a bunch of vultures. Sirius must have decided to get out of the circle, so he went after Melissa. he broke free, and so it then looked a bit like an old fashioned car-chase. Sirius drove around, but then realized something:he was heading straight for the wall, and had forgotten which pedal was the brake.

He went for the bigger one-- it was logical. A bigger pedal would surely be the brake so it would be easier to access.

Unfortunately for him, he never did pay any attention in Muggle Studies. As his car sped up, he hit the wall, hard.

"What the heck do you think you're doin'? You look old enough to have a driver's license, and you don't know which pedal is the brake!" the owner exclaimed.

The group quickly got Len to make up a lie for him. As she whispered in his ear, he nodded, an understanding and sympathetic look on his face.

"Well that's quite all right I suppose. No harm done." he said and walked away.

"What did you tell him Len?" Remus asked.

"That Sirius had been visiting his cousin lately, but then he died and that he only just got out of MH, and therefore didn't have time to get his driver's license."

This made Lily crack up with laughter. Len joined her. The other's just looked confused.

"Um, do I want to know what an MH is?" Sirius asked.

(AN: this next part could cause slight offense to anyone who has been in, is, knows someone who has been in or is. No offense intended.)

"Um... it means that you just got out of a Mental Hospital." Len explained with a sheepish smile. She spent the next five minutes cracking up with the others, except for Sirius.

So, they came to a bunch of rides, and then games. James won Lily a big stuffed unicorn by throwing rings over some jars. She had quickly popped back home to put it away so it didn't get dirty.

Hours passed, and the boys did several things that got the group strange stares. While Melissa was smart enough to keep her mouth shut, Sirius shouted about how magnificent Cotton Candy was.

"I mean it's wonderful! It's all whispy and sticky! And the way you can just bite it off the stick is simply amazing! It's quite the skill!" he had complemented the cotton candy lady. Who was looking at him like he was crazy. So, throughout the day, Len kept using the same lie about Sirius' cousin.

At the very last point, the girls insisted that they go on the faris wheel. The boys grudgingly agreed, scared of what these muggles might try to do with something like that.

But it ended up very romantic. Each couple got their own carriage, and it was very nice. But then, before they went home, the girls just had to introduce Sirius to the Caramel Apple.

"Oh wow! An apple covered in caramel! I wonder where these grow..." he said loudly as the vendor who was selling them looked at Sirius as if he were something in a zoo.

But finally, with a ride down that strange plastic slide (you know, the one that makes a ripping sound as you go down it, the inflatable kind that can't fit in most indoor buildings.) during which the boys, except for Remus, all screamed as they slid down. It was quite the hilarious sight.

But then, when they got back to Len and Remus' place, Len took off the hat she had been wearing for the whole trip. There, recording out of a small whole in her hat, was her trusty camcorder. Shrunk, of course. Len spent the next ten minutes running away from her friends and fiance.

Okay, though I think it's really easy to see, I am very hyper right now, and that's why I wrote the fair part. Please tell me if you think it was funny. Sorry it took so long, see my profile for a more detailed explanationR,E&R!


	29. Romance is in the Air

_**Ch.29, Romance is in the Air**_

The day after the fair, Lily, Len, Melissa and Marlene went dress shopping. It was agreed that Lily was going to be Len's maid of honor, and the other two would be brides maids. They entered _Madame Blah's Wedding Supplies_.

"Oh! You're the group coming in for fittings, aren't you?" Madame Blah (MB) said. She was a plump woman and seemed very kind.

"Well we have to find gowns first." Len said.

"Wonderful! Now tell me, who's the bride?" she asked as she led them to a large portion of the store that was practically white.

Len raised a shy hand. The kind woman took her and measured her. Then, after Len said that the other girls were brides maids/ the maid of honor, she called some assistants and they got measured too.

After the measurements were done, Len was piled with catalogues. She asked the other girls to help her look through them, and they found many things. Within twenty minutes, the pile of catalogues was much shorter, and some had doggy-eared pages.

Len gasped as she found the perfect gown. She pointed it out to the others, and they saw the shear beauty of it. MB came over and asked if they had found something that they like.

"Oh I think that will suit you very nicely dear. In fact, I believe we have one here, would you like to try it on?" she asked. Len nodded vigorously. The girls followed her and saw the gown itself. After she had came out, all the women gasped at her. It came with a choice of three accessories. A white shawl, a bright yellow sash, or baby blue gloves. it was obvious which one Len chose. The yellow sash. The girls helped her pick out a tiara to hold her vail up. In the end, a silver tiara with a yellow diamond in it. It matched her dress perfectly.

She finished the fitting with ordering the other girls' dresses. Of course, they would all be yellow. Lily's would be slightly different than the other two's though, since she was the maid of honor. As they left the shop, the girls arranged to pick up the dresses at a later date. They then apparated back to Len's appartment.

When they were still talking about the dresses, Remus came into the room. They stopped talking abruptly.

"What, can't I know what the dress looks like on you Len?" he asked with puppy dog eyes.

She shook her head, grinning. "Nope, sorry Remus but it's bad luck for the groom to know what the brides looks like before the wedding." she said in a sing-song voice.

"I thought that was only for the groom to see the bride the night before the wedding!" Remus muttered loudly as he walked out, a fake hurt expression on his face.

"That too!" Lily shouted after him.

Soon, it was only a week before the wedding. And no one who wasn't blind could see that both were nervous. So, Lily, Melissa and Marlene decided to plan Len's wedding shower for the following night. It would take place in Lily's house, and she would kick the boys out. The three of them would be there, and all of Len's friends who were girls from the Order.

So, Lily got James out of the house, and now all they needed was Len. Lily was going to get her now. Then, the whole group that was there, which was about 10 people, hid behind the useful-for-surprise-parties blind spot behind the door. They heard some of the trick that was being played on Len.

"I think I left it in here, could you come in and help me look?" Lily asked. She was beginning to learn to lie like Len, but was still not nearly as good. Len came in warily at the tone of her voice. She knew from being an expert on the subject, that Lily was lying.

"Lil..." she started, but not before she had walked in so she couldn't see the people behind the blind spot.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY uh... GETTING MARRIED LEN!" everyone shouted, then halfway through realizing that this wasn't a surprise party like the last time. So, they improvised.

They even tossed confetti in the air, and it all landed on Len's stunned face. Which Lily promptly took a picture of.

"Oh my..." Len started as the girls pulled her to sit on the sofa. In front of the sofa was the coffee table, which was heaped with gifts. But then Len got out of her stunned period, and shrieked.

"Thank you you guys! Oh this was really sweet of you." Len said as she was suddenly buried under a pile of gifts. her friends started chanting. "Open Open Open!"

She tore off the card attached to one gift, and found it to be from Melissa. She opened the box, and whatever was in there made her blush and close the box. Melissa told everyone, while laughing about Len's face, that she had gotten Len some clothes that she knew Remus would like for their honeymoon. This sent every girl there into a fit of giggles, so it sounded like the house itself was giggling. After Len finished blushing, she opened the next gift, which was from Dorcas Meadowes.

After the presents, during which Len blushed more times than she would like to count, Lily Len's favourite muggle romance movie out. After they watched _Mighty Joe Young,_ (has anyone seen that movie? It's my all-time favourite!) they realized the time.

Everyone went to go, but then Melissa decided, just to get her blushing again, to read out a list of exactly what Len had received. This set the house into another fit of giggles.

When James arrived, he had purposefully apparated to the outside, and thanked himself for it. It sounded to him as if the house was giggling. He had arrived right in the middle of girl talk. So, he apparated back to Remus', where he had spent the time so far, because boys weren't allowed at wedding showers. He figured that when Len got home, it would signal the end of the shower.

So, a few hours later, Len apparated home to find that James was playing wizard chess with Remus.

"Hey James. Lily says you can come back now." Len said as she yawned.

"Finally! I was wondering how long a wedding shower could possibly take!" he said, as he flung up his arms in defeat as Remus once again said, "checkmate."

After James left, Remus turned to Len. "Having jitters yet?" he asked, referring to the wedding.

"Just a little. You?" she answered, as they got ready for bed. (AN: not what you think, just doing their teeth, and changing, that sort of thing)

"I don't know what to think. 'night sunshine." Remus had finally decided on a pet name she didn't mind, and this one was because of yellow being her favourite colour.

Those last few days passed, and soon the girls were at Len's parents' house, where she had stayed the night before. It was bad luck for the groom to see the bride the night before the wedding. Len, Lily, Melissa, Marlene, and Len's mother, were running about, getting ready and listening to Len's mother complain about how her baby was all grown up. Then, Marlene comes up with a piece of parchment and a quill. They were in Len's old room, so the incoming slew of relatives wouldn't bother them.

Len had already gotten changed, and was doing her makeup. Then Marlene came over and explained what the parchment was.

"It's a checklist. Every bride is supposed to have for her wedding: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Why, I have absolutely no clue. But you only have something new; you're dress."

"We can fix that! Here Len, this was you're great-grandmother's necklace. It fills the rest of the categories. You can borrow it, so it's something borrowed, it has a blue gem stone, and it's very old." her mother said, clasping a chain around her neck.

"Thanks mummy." Len said as she looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror that Marlene had conjured up.

"You look gorgeous sweety." her mother said.

Just then there was a knock at the door, and a shout of "I want to see my grand-niece!" Then, when Lily opened her door at Len's warning, every single member of Len's family tried and failed to squeeze into her small room, which was already full from the girls.

So they all insisted that she use some form of magic or another. Meanwhile, Dorcas Meadowes, who the girls found to be an excellent decorator, was putting the finishing touches on the area of the Hogwarts grounds. Dumbledore had been very generous in allowing all of Len's family to be at Hogwarts, but only during the wedding. They had planned the reception for a rented out hall.

Meanwhile, Remus was pacing around the appartment, in his dress robes, while James and Sirius were doing very bad jobs of trying to cheer him up.

"Come on Moony! Think about it! You'll be spending the rest of you're life with the woman you love, what could be better than that?" Sirius said.

"Yeah! And who knows, in a couple of years, there might be little Lens and little Remus's around here!" James, who had been elected Best Man said cheerfully.

Of course, this did absolutely nothing to calm Remus. By now, Len and her family would be taking a port key to Hogwarts. Then, Benji apparated in, and said he was supposed to come now.

As Remus waited, he also greeted everyone from his family that had not disowned him. Of course, there were also friends. But the number of people on his side were nothing compared to the people on her side. All of Len's relatives were had sat down with semi-dazed expressions, as they had never traveled by port key before. They were all seated in two groups, and in the middle was the long isle that Len would come down soon. On each row of seats, either a yellow rose (Len's favourite flower) or a baby's breath (Remus chose it because it complemented the roses so perfectly) was tied in place with a white ribbon. While Len's side was full, Remus' side had only ten people. His grandparents, and one of his cousins, and some friends.

But then, as Remus stood at the front, the music started, announcing the brides coming.

-------------------------------------------Before the Music Starts------------------------------------------------

There was a small tent-like thingy set up at the back of the isle. Of course, it was magically enlarged inside. Len was sitting down, getting the finishing touches on her hair and makeup. Of course, she was very nervous.

The couple had elected for one of Len's younger cousins to be the flower girl. In fact, she was very cute right now, in a little white dress and holding a basket of flower petals. Her cousin's mother was ranting on about how cute she was, and taking tons of muggle pictures.

Then, the music started. The bridal march started with the Flower girl, and many 'aww's were heard as she scattered flower petals down the isle.

Then, Marlene went down, and after her, Melissa. They were both is silky yellow dresses that had no sleeves.

Then, right before Len herself, Lily went down the isle, in a dress the same silky yellow material, the only difference was that she had triangle sleeves.

Len picked up her bouquet and and pulled her vail over her face. She took her father's arm and he walked her down the isle.

To Remus, she was one word: beautiful. Her dress was the brightest white, with the yellow sash. It had triangle sleeves made out of that semi-see through material. The bodice was lace-covered, and clung to her. The skirt was not ball type, but it just gently flowed down to the ground. With each step she took, a pair of white sandals showed. She had elbow length gloves, and her bouquet was made of yellow roses that were charmed to literally sparkle. Her tiara hled up a short vail, it just fell to her stomach. Her hair was in half a bun, but half of it was loose. Her bangs framed her face.

When she reached the front, her dad left and she handed her bouquet to Lily. Then, she and Remus got married, hand in hand, and he kissed her after. Neither had ever been so happy.

Then, the couple apparated to the hall that had been rented. Soon, those who could not apparate took a port key there and joined the happy couple.

They were heaped with congratulations, and everyone broke out laughing and looked to Len when her _favourite_ uncle came over with a chair stuck to his behind.

"What makes you think I did it? There are plenty of other wizards and witches here now!" she shouted. But then, she quickly performed the counter charm. Everyone was red from holding in laughter.

Then came dinner. And, unfortunately for the boys, so did the time for all of the bride and groom's friends to tell embarrassing stories about them and how they met them.

Lily and Melissa went up at the same time, and conjured (to the amazement of Len's family) a large TV screen. This made the boys go pale and Len laugh. They inserted the tape of when they were at the fair, so it would be embarrassing for Remus too. It showed him and the other boys getting beaten to a pulp on bumper cars, screaming like girls on the roller coaster, and asking why they would want to toss a ring over a bottle. By the end of it, everyone was laughing, even Remus.

But then one of Melissa's stories made Len blush, and the hall laugh. "When Len first found out that Remus had a crush on her back at school, that was the first time I've ever seen her care about how she looked to others. Every morning she would do her hair carefully, and put on some makeup. Before they got a crush on each other, Len had never done her makeup for a normal day of classes. When I brought this up, we all laughed and the look on Len's face was priceless!"

Then Marlene came up and enlarged all the pictures of when the group had an embarrassing moment. The Floo incident, the Twister fall, everything. People were gasping for breath because it was so funny. And the carnival music that Benji was playing in the background during a sort of slideshow of the pictures.

So, finally, it was the time that all the single people were looking for, (and by single I mean not married) the tossing of the bouquet. Lily, Melissa and Marlene were in the group too, but had been forbidden to use summoning spells.

Len closed her eyes, and threw it over her head. She heard shrieks, and knew that one of her friends had it. She turned around, ready to tease, and saw the blushing look on Lily's face. She teased along with the others.

"Remember you're aura stone colours Lily!" Melissa reminded teasingly.

"So whens the wedding Lil?" Marlene asked.

But James himself was being teased, because he was her long-time boyfriend.

"So Prongs, when are you going to propose?" Sirius asked.

"Wheres the ring James?" Remus added.

James blushed and mumbled "Lay off."

Hours passed, and Remus realized why Len had warned him to get a lot of sleep the night before. Her relatives were still talking, and it was 1am! The same stories were being told over and over again, and he realized that talking skill must be genetic. Len was talking just as much as the others.

But then, when practically all of Len's younger cousins had fallen asleep, her relatives decided that 3am was a good time to head back to their hotel.

A week passed, and Len and Remus returned from their honeymoon. Just in time for Lily's birthday.

They planned a party similar to the last one, except with more of Lily's Order friends. Several embarrassing pictures were taken, and that included the stuff-you're-face-in-the-most cake contest by Sirius and Benji for Lily's benefit. Of course, they didn't do it in the birthday cake, just multiplied several cream pies, and actually raced to see who could stuff their heads in the most pie in the time of one minute. Sirius won, with 55. Melissa cleaned him off with a cleaning charm.

The party was wonderful, and went very late. After everyone had left, James walked over to where Lily was sitting on the sofa.

"Did you have a good time?" he asked.

She snuggled into his side. "Of course I did. It was really sweet of you guys." she said.

"You are so pretty." he said, looking down at her.

"Thank you. And you are so cute when you're nervous." Lily said, smiling.

"How could you tell I was nervous?" James asked with mock affrontation.

"Because you always start with something off topic, you blink a lot, you ruffle you're hair, you scratch you're neck-"

"I get it, I get it." James responded, laughing. He also lowered the hand that had subconsciously been ruffling his hair. He sat with her for a few moments, gathering his nerves.

"Why are you nervous?" she asked.

James decided to answer honestly. "'Cause I'm about to do something I've never done before."

She laughed.

James reached into his pocket and took out a box. "What's that?" Lily asked curiously.

"You're birthday present, if you want it to be." James said. Now, Lily was officially confused.

He opened the box, and out shone a gorgeous gold ring, with a diamond in the center.

Lily gasped. "Lily, I have loved you since I first set my eyes on you. And I always will. If you left me, I would be nothing. I know that you love me back. Lily Evans, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

Ooooh, what will Lily say? Will she think it's to soon for them to be married, a mere few years out of school, or will she say yes? Will I leave a cliffhanger and be cruel, or will I keep on typing? I think that I'll be cruel, and stop the chapter here. MWAHAHAHAAAA!


	30. Twice, Thrice, and Jamie the Juggler

Oooh, I'm evil aren't I? I wonder what will happen? And what the heck does that strange title mean? Oh, and thank you for the wonderful, if not slightly language abusing, reviews. Don't forget, R,E&R! And if you haven't stopped reading this blurb yet, then you should because nothing more of use is going to be said. Should I show her answer, or just skip to where she tells her friends her answer? In other words, should I be evil, or nice? puts hands together in Mr.Burns impersonation EVIL! MWAHAHAHAAA!

_**Ch.30, Twice, Thrice and Jamie the Juggler**_

Lily apparated into Len's apartment, with a very sad look on her face. Len walked out of her room, where she had been unpacking, and saw the look on Lily's face.

"Lily! What happened? What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

"I...James..." Lily started, the sullen look still on her face.

Just then, Melissa and Marlene tumbled out of the fireplace. They saw the look on Lily's face, and asked what was wrong. But Lily was still not able to form complete sentences, so they sat her down on the sofa and got her some water.

"Now take a drink Lil, you'll feel better. Now tell us, what happened." Len said firmly but kindly.

"I...James, he..." she started again, but just _couldn't _form complete sentences.

"What did he do Lils? Come on, take a drink, good. Now tell us, what happened." Marlene said in the same tone of voice that Len had used.

"He...he..."

"Did that &$!# break up with you or something? If he did, then I'll kill him." Melissa said.

"No...he..."

The girls leaned in.

Lily smiled, and held up her ring. "He proposed to me!"

The girls stared in shock for a few moments, then shrieked.

"I so tricked you! And you all fell for it! Even you Len!" Lily said, but then was crushed by three hyper girls.

"Help...need oxygen..." she stuttered.

"No way! Now, you know how I felt whenever you gave me one of these!" Len said, holding her best friend even tighter.

"The bouquet never lies Lil!" Marlene said happily.

"Ooooh, remember you aura stone Lily! The only two people with green end up getting married!" Melissa said, and both the previous comments made Lily blush.

Soon, Remus came to see what all the ruckus was about. He then saw four girls, his wife among them, jumping up and down for joy.

"Woah, what happened?" he asked.

Len came up to him. "James proposed to Lily! And she said yes!" she said excitedly and gave him a big hug.

"Congratulations Lily." he said once Len let him go.

"Thanks. Listen, I have to go, see you guys later!" Lily said right before she apparated out.

But just as she arrived home, Emmaline Vance arrived into Len and Remus' home.

"Come on guys, emergency Order meeting. I got to go tell Lily and James." she said quickly before apparating out.

The group was startled, but grabbed their shoes anyway. Then, they apparated out to the LC. Meanwhile, Emmaline was informing Lily and James.

After all the members were there, Dumbledore stood up and announced that one of their operatives had not yet come back from a mission, and that was very bad. The operative had been sneaking into a DE hideout that they had found. She was supposed to contact them within twenty four hours. No such contact had been made, and it was so late now that Dumbledore was worried.

"Once we get there, we shall split up into teams. The five of you (he points at Mr.Potter, James, Sirius, Remus, and Benji) will enter the hideout through the back way. You five (he points to Mrs.Potter, Lily, Len, Melissa and Marlene) will be on the lookout for group one. (the first team mentioned) You five, (Sturgis, Moody, Emmaline, and the Prewet brothers) will come with me through the front entrance. Now make haste, there is no time to waste! (heehee, that rhymes!)

So the group took a port key because it was quieter, and walked around a bit before they saw the base. It was sort of built into a hill, but there would probably be a back entrance. Group two dissolutioned themselves and stood on the lookout. Group one did the same and then crept around to the back. Group three went with Dumbledore right through the front entrance. Fighting was soon heard as DEs piled out in the fifties. The lookout crew was no match for them. But they had the element of surprise.

The DEs were patrolling around the base and group 2 surrounded them. Since they were still disolutioned, the DEs couldn't see where their targets were. But this was obvious. Lily, Len and Melissa had hid themselves in trees like they had when playing hide and seek with the boys. Marlene was on the ground with Mrs.Potter, and they both had blended in with the area around them. By the time the DEs had co-ordinated where the jets of red light were coming from, and started shooting back, half of them were stunned. Soon, group 1 joined the group, saying that there was no sign of the operative, let alone anyone, in the base. All the DEs had come out here, and now they were being joined by a few dementors.

Lily sent a phoenix shaped patronus after them, and they went. But more DEs were flooding out by the second, and soon a very tall person came out and yelled something. Then, to the horror of the group, the jets of red light turned green. The DEs were now using the Avada Kedavera curse.

All the Order members had to take at least two DEs each so they wouldn't be to outnumbered. Sirius and James were somehow juggling eight of them, and doing an okay job. Remus and Len were back to back, and taking on another five. Melissa and Marlene were with Mr.&Mrs.Potter, and trying ten of them.

The number of DEs slowly decreased, so did the Order members. James almost froze as a piercing yell was heard through the ruckus. He quickly dealt with the few he was taking, and rushed, dodging spells this way and that, and ran to his mother and father.

But he was to late. While his father cradled his mother's dead form in his arms, another killing spell was sent. It hit him square in the back, and their killer towered over them. As Voldemort laughed, James' anger burst. The next moment he could be seen in a fierce duel with Voldemort. But Voldemort was better. He had taunting on his side after all. But soon, Sirius saw the trouble his friend was in, and rushed to his side.

"Oh, the traitor Black is here too? You're family would probably like to say hello..." he taunted.

Melissa ran over to help her boyfriend. Still, with three angry people dueling him, Voldemort was able to block everything and send killing curses. But these were few, and dodged easily.

Remus and Len ran over to help. But this only got Voldemort to tease more.

"Oooh, the half breed and his wife, what a pleasant combination. Tell me Lupin, do all you're friends know what you really are?"

"Shut up!" Len shouted for her husbands sake. With five people dueling now, they were doing slightly better. The odd stunning spell hit him, but because of all the evil in him, he did not falter.

James saw something out of the corner of his eye, but did not dare shout out.

"Tallentaragra!" a very familiar voice shouted from up a tree. This startled Voldemort, as he had been to busy taunting to notice the brave person climbing a tree right behind him.

As his legs started moving a little, he scowled and turned to face his attacker.

"Mudblood scum! You'll pay, just like you're parents did!" and with that, Voldemort apparated away, and a smiling redhead hopped down from the tree.

With their master gone, the remaining DEs had no choice but to leave. Not to mention that Dumbledore and the rest of group 3 had decided to join. As Marlene told him what had happened, James knelt beside his dead parents. Tears slid down his cheeks, as he realized all they had missed.

As Lily's hand rested on his shoulder, he said quietly, "They didn't even get a chance to here our engagement."

Lily's hand tightened on his shoulder as Sirius came and sat beside James. They had been like a real family to him, and he would miss them like one.

The rest of the group sat down too. They had all met them, and liked them. As they all quietly mourned, Dumbledore came over to them.

"This is a great loss. May I offer my apologies." he said quietly.

The rest of the Order came over, and they used a port key to go back and take back the bodies to the LC. Sturigs came over to James and said, "Listen James, all aurors in my department have a written will in these hard times. You're parents were included. I'll get a copy to you as soon as possible. They were great people." he said.

James still hadn't said anything. His mind was filed with one colour: baige. (finally found correct spelling!) He couldn't think of anything but his parents, and so he just sat through the short meeting that followed, and barely listened while Dumbledore reported their losses.

"It would seem that Dorcas Meadowes, our operative, was killed by Voldemort the moment it was discovered that she couldn't give any useful information. There are other losses as well. Mr. William Potter, and Mrs. Anne Potter, were killed by Voldemort today, may their souls rest in piece as heroes." he said mournfully.

When it had been mentioned that James' parents were dead, everyone turned to look at the oldest Potter son. Who was still surrounded by his friends and fiance, all of whom were trying to comfort him.

When James got home, Lily gave him a hug and he broke down completely. Lily did her best to comfort him, and soon, which was about 11pm, he was calm enough to go to bed.

The next day, James still didn't talk much. It had been reported officially that his parents had died on an auror mission. That day he and Lily went over to Potter Manor to find the house in a state of ruckus.

None of James' siblings had bothered to read the paper, and Tot could not control them. As James entered the North common room, he saw his brothers and sisters jumping up and down on the sofas, and his oldest brother was doing the same.

James held up his wand and it emitted a loud bang. This made them all stop, and look at James. They all raced forward and gave him a hug.

"Hey James, do you know where mum or dad is?" his oldest brother, Jeremy, asked.

"Come on guys, sit down. I got somethin' to tell you." he said quietly. His siblings, startled by his serious expression, sat down right away.

"Where are they James?" Jeremy, the only one old enough to understand that his parent's jobs were dangerous.

"I guess none of you have read the paper yet, have you?" he asked, as he sat down and explained that they wouldn't be coming home.

Afterward, the entire Potter house was quiet. The quintuplets were silently crying, and James' brothers were all stoneyfaced, just like he had been.

James realized that if they were here right now, his parent's would tell him to look after his brothers and sisters. He pulled his head up, and in an attempt to lighten the mood, he told them all about his and Lily's engagement.

This seemed to be the distraction that they needed, and when James' grandparents apparated in, they found the house in much better shape than they had expected. His grandfather quickly took James aside.

"James, you do know what happened to you're mother and father, right?" he asked.

James went stoney faced again. "Yes. I was just here telling them. Then, I realized that if they were here, they would tell me to make sure they were okay, so I told them about mine and Lily's engagement. It cheered them up a bit." James said.

So, James left Lily with her soon to be brothers and sisters in law, he explained to his grandparents how they had died. Of course, he didn't mention anything about the Order. They listened with sullen faces.

"Just curious James, you're not a fully-fledged auror yet, how could you have been there?" his grandma asked.

"Oh, uh, sometimes if their short for people they let the aurors take the training ones on missions. Me and my friends are some of the best in our class, so they let my mum and dad take us." James lied quickly.

So James and Lily spent the rest of the day at the Potter manor, and the rest of James' family was amazed at Lily's cooking skill. But soon, Sturgis arrived with the written copy of his parent's will.

"It says that you guys are to live with grandma and grampa." James said to his brothers and sisters. In the end, the couple had to call Sirius because there was a small section for him too, which made him feel very touched.

But then the couple left, because the manor had been left to Jeremy. Of course, he could only claim it once he was of age. He would have to wait many years, because he was only this year starting third year at Hogwarts.

Most of his parents' fortune had been left to James. Along with a letter.

_Dear James,_

_If you are reading this, it means we are dead. We want you to know that we both loved you very much. We have only one piece of advice for you: follow you're heart. You have to do what you want to do. You're mother and I area always with you, if not physically, we're in you're heart. Look after you're brothers and sisters for us. Enclosed is a letter like this one for each of them. Please make sure they get it. (Once the girls can read, of course.)_

_We both love you very much._

_Love, you're parents._

_P.S. we don't know how far you're relationship with Lily is, or even if it is still on, but we know that you two make a lovely pair._

James had given the letters to their owners, and asked his grandparents to give the quintuplet's their letters when they could read.

A few days passed, and the school term started again. Len went a little easy on Jeremy, and his brother, who just started Hogwarts. They were still shoocken, but both wanted to be aurors now. They paid rapt attention in all DADA classes, and got the best marks in the class.

It was the weekend, and Len was in with Remus marking papers. Then, Lily popped in, and came up to Len.

"I thought you should know, James and I have set the wedding day. October 10. Oh, and you are definitely a bridesmaid." Lily said excitedly all in one breath.

"Great! A little soon though, don't you think?" Len asked.

"Well, we wanted a small wedding. Just James' closest family, the remainder of mine, and some friends. See you next week for the fitting!" Lily said as she popped out, to tell Melissa that she was maid of honor.

When she got home, James said that Sirius had been estatic about being best man. They had been planning like crazy, James found it the perfect distraction from his parent's death. It would be held in the backyard of the Potter Manor, and the reception would be there too.

The girls went to _Madame Blah's Wedding Supplies_ again for their fittings. MB was thrilled to see them again.

"Now who's the bride this time?" she asked. Lily raised her hand. She smiled and took Lily to the same fitting room where Len had been measured. After, she too was heaped with catalogues.

"I can't find anything." Lily complained to the girls while MB was with another customer.

"Well, when Remus and I got married, she mentioned that they do custom gowns here. It'll probably be a tad expensive, but I'm sure you can afford it." Len said.

"You know, that's an idea." Lily said, just as MB came back over.

"Have you made a choice?" MB asked, gathering up discarded catalogues.

"Actually, I was wondering about a custom dress." Lily said politely.

"Ah wonderful! With that option, you can either draw you're own design, or have someone else draw it." she said, sounding like a commercial.

Lily thought for a moment. "I would like to design my own please. And I can draw it too." she said, and MB led her over to a small area of the shop where the walls were covered in parchment. There was a table, with every drawing material you could think of.

After being there drawing for about an hour, Lily finally got the look she was looking for. She told MB, and she said that it would be ready in two weeks.

"That's just in time for the wedding!" Lily said happily. Then, after finding emerald green bridesmaids dresses for the other girls, they left the shop and went into the LC to meet the boys, but just for a drink.

The LC had sort of become the meeting place for most Order friends. But, just to chat and things like that. It was very convenient, incase there was ever an emergency.

On a Saturday a few weeks later, Lily and the other girls were picking up their dresses. They stopped into the LC to have a drink, (not alcohol) and meet their husbands/fiances/boyfriends/friends.

Lily and Len were laughing as they watched Remus and James literally juggle seven drinks. 5 butterbeers, 1 iced tea, and 1 gillywater almost went crashing to the floor more times than the group cared to count. The entire non-drunk population of LC was watching. They all cheered as James and Remus set the drinks on the table. James took a mock bow before sitting down with Lily.

"I had no idea that you could juggle James." Lily said, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sirius start to talk.

"Hey Prongs! That can be you're new nickname! Jamie the Juggler!"

This made the bar, (everyone who was not to drunk to listen was) roar with laughter. The barkeeper was howling with laughter, and James blushed, knowing that the rest of the Order that was not here in the bar would here about it soon.

But seeing him blush made the table he was at turn red with holding in laughter.

"Oh shove it." he said miserably as he tried to sink into his chair.

But then an Order member pointed out, "That's no way to talk to you're fiance is it James?"

James looked to his side and saw Lily with a mock hurt face on. He moaned and banged his head on the table.

But then, a recognized Order member came running down the stairs, and gave the sign that there was an emergency. The group waited, knowing that if every Order member went rushing up the stairs at one time, it would look to suspicious. So when no ones attention was on them, the group casually got up and headed upstairs.

When they opened the door, they could hear what the charm stops the drinkers from hearing. The sound of ruckus and panic. Of sheaves of parchment being spread out. Of people yelling and shouting.

The group quickly entered and closed the door. Moody came up to them and told them what they knew.

"Dumbledore just got word that there is a full-scale slaughter planned in a small muggle village east of France. We're getting all members, but some are unavailable. You six are to apparate there immediately to meet every other person we've been able to wrangle up." he said quickly.

So, they took their wands and anything else they might need, and apparated to the area. It was dark out, and the crescent moon was high in the sky. There, they found the Prewet brothers, the Longbottoms, the Weaslys and a few other people. Moody came in and took charge.

"Dumbledore can't be here, he has to distract the ministry. He believes that we can handle the situation better if there aren't ministries to get in our way and ask questions that we can't answer. Now we believe that Voldemort (slight shudders from everyone but our one and only group+ Moody) has his stronghold in the town hall, but be careful. Our operative says he has several creatures at his disposal, including giants. Remember, constant vigilance!" Moody said quickly.

The split up. The group, and everyone else. The group patrolled around the city, because Voldemort hadn't stricken yet. He was gathering his forces, and everyone else was going to try and stop him.

The group (just to remind you, the group at this point does not include Marlene) walked around the streets, keeping in contact by means of some walkie-talkies that Lily and Len conjured. Sirius _loved _them.

"Padfoot to Jamie the Juggler, what's going on?" he whispered into his.

"Padfoot, I'm right beside you and don't use that stupid name!" James said from, well, right beside him.

Sirius scowled. "Padfoot to Mrs.Moony, James is bugging me!" he whined to the group peace keeper, Len.

"Sirius, we haven't even split up yet, we're all right here!" Len said in a voice that said, I'm-annoyed, from about a meter away. (for those of you who don't know, a meter is about 3 feet, give or take a bit)

Again, Sirius scowled. "Padfoot to-"

"Sirius! Wait until we've split up!" everyone hissed.

So they went off in groups of two. James and Lily, Remus and Len, Sirius and Melissa.

"How come I get stuck with him?" Melissa had complained.

Sirius put on a mock hurt face. "If you don't remember Melly, _you_ moved in with _me._" he said smugly.

"Yeah, but we don't use walkie talkies to talk inside our house, do we?"

"What a great idea!"

"Ugh."

The rest of the group laughed, and set off.

"Everything seems so peaceful here. It's hard to imagine what this place will look like if we fail." Lily said as she and James walked through a child's play park.

"Yeah. But as they say, the calm before the storm." James said, and put his arm around her waist.

Hours passed, and the group was getting tired. They decided to meet up where they had started, even though it had been hard to contact Sirius. (his line was always busy)

When they got there, they were faced with devastation.

Dead bodies were everywhere, children had been spared no mercy. The houses were crushed, nothing but ruble. Crater-like holes were in the paved road, and cars had been over turned. Once perfect flower beds were torn and rooted. Trees were upside down. Screams could be heard. Fences were ruined. Power lines were down and sparking. Everywhere, there was chaos.

And, walking down the road, was an army of giants, DEs, dementors, and several Blast-Ended Screwets.

The group stared. They felt very lucky that the army was facing away from them. They quickly took cover behind a fallen tree.

"W-What happened?" Lily whispered.

"Obviously the others couldn't stop that. Where are they anyway?" James asked.

The group looked around and saw that they weren't in sight. They formulated a plan. They hoped that most of Voldemort's forces would be terrorizing the city. Len and Melissa would go around the city, looking for survivors. Lily, James, Sirius and Remus would go to town hall and find the others.

Remus gave Len a quick hug before they parted ways. "Be careful." she whispered.

"You know I always will be." he smiled as he let go of her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving.

Lily and Len walked in the army's wake, but always far enough away to avoid the Dementors sensing them. Unfortunately, this was not the only advantage they had the Dementors for. They left none living.

Just as they were about to go onto the next street, Lily's walkie-talkie broke through the silence with a knife of static. Melissa's voice came through.

"Lily (static) head back (static) outnumbered (s) don't stand a (sssssssss)" was all they could hear.

"Mel! Mel, can you hear me!" Lily cried into the walkie-talkie. She then turned to Len and said it was no use.

But Len wasn't thinking along those lines. "If you ask me, that wasn't Mel. She wouldn't have told us to head back, she'd tell us to get the heck over there and help. Not to go back."

Lily's eyes widened. "The Imperious curse! You're right! They must be in trouble. Come on, let's get to Town Hall!"

The two girls decided that if the others had been captured, then it would be best to go in transformed. They reached it slowly, avoiding standing power lines.

They got there and flew around the building for a bit until Len spotted the room Obviously being used as a prison. As both birds perched on the window, they saw that everyone was unconscious. A DE barged through the door, and there was one other helping him drag Melissa back into the room.

"So the Dark Lord got the blood traitor to fool her friends eh?" one said.

"Yeah, it was easy. And, the Dark Lord devised a splendid plan to prevent them from escaping. A simple dose of stunning spells keeps'm out cold!" the other cackled.

But then they left, leaving the two conscious birds to look around.

The Prewet brothers weren't there. Everyone else was unconscious. But, Marlene! Marlene was laying down, not breathing! She was... dead.

The two girls looked at each other. They returned to human form and locked the door from this side right away. Then, they proceeded to wake up the others.

"James! Are you okay?" Lily asked worriedly as she revived him with _Evanesco._

"Yeah... wait, what are you doing here?" he asked.

Lily chose to ignore how rude he was and explained about how they had assumed that Mel was under the Imperious curse when she contacted them.

"You can't have been more correct Lily." Melissa herself said as Remus, who Len revived, revived her.

"But how did you two get in here? There are guards outside the door." Remus asked.

"We flew." Len answered simply.

"And I'm going to fly you out." Lily said, and when she was met with 'what the heck?' looks, she said, "Well, phoenixes can carry very heavy loads. I'm confident I can carry you, Sirius, Remus, and the rest of you." she said to James.

Everyone agreed, saying that this was logical. So, Lily transformed and flew out the window. Then, from inside, James grabbed on, then Sirius grabbed his hand, and so on and so on. Len and Melissa flew out themselves. Unfortunately they couldn't take Marlene.

Lily was struggling slightly, but managed. As everyone landed safely on the ground, she returned to human form, saying that she would not be able to keep on flying because she was to sore.

But, Unfortunately she hadn't been able to fly very far, so they were still near the building. They all turned around when they heard a cruel, harsh laugh.

"So that's how you scum have been escaping? The mudblood is an animagus. No wonder you could slip through you're chains." Voldemort sneered.

But, fortunately for them, Len and Marlene were not so tired that they could still fly. Now they were sitting in a tree, ready to start pecking Voldemort. But, Remus gave them the sign to find their wands. They would need them, and quick. So, Len and Melissa flew off looking inside windows for the pieces of wood. Meanwhile, Lily and James were keeping him busy with talking and taunting.

But soon Voldemort got tired of talking. He drew his wand, and was just about to start killing when-

Peck! He was hit on the head by a raven! While he was distracted, Len soared above her friends and dropped their wands from her talons.

They caught them with ease. Soon, an all-out duel started. Len and Melissa were able to return to human form without Voldemort noticing. They joined in, fighting off the streams of DEs that came out of the building.

Lily and James were left fighting off Voldemort.

"Come Potter, you don't want to mingle with low-lives such as this mudblood!" Voldemort said as he blocked spell after spell.

"Don't you dare talk about my fiance that way!" James said, but his words stunned Voldemort so much that he faltered. If they did have a child, he thought, it would be able to fulfill the prophecy!

But Lily took his falter, and sent about twenty quick body-bind curses at him. They slowed him quite a bit, but he was able to block most of them.

But then he struck back with some sort of curse at Lily, who was unsuspecting. She screamed and fell to the ground, where James rushed to her side.

"Lily! Are you okay? Come on Lil, say something!" James pleaded as he cradled her head.

Lily slowly opened her eyes. She heard James gasp with relief. She slowly got up, not knowing what he had hit her with.

But Voldemort was stunned. How could she have gotten up from that curse without so much as a scratch!

But Lily had something he didn't. She had people who truly loved her, and they were all rushing over after they had heard her scream. After they saw that she was, they turned their wands on Voldemort.

They stood in a line, (from left to right: Melissa, Sirius, James, Lily, Len and Remus) and sent spell after spell at him.

"You will all pay! Blood traitors, filthy Mudblood is and halfbreeds alike, will all pay the price in the end!" Voldemort yelled as he disapparated.

After their precious master left them, they remaining DEs and creatures all left too.

When the remaining mission members got back to Headquarters, it was morning. They were all stunned as Madame Pomfrey told them what Lily had been hit with.

"It was the _Darkonious Strikus_ curse. It's a terrible way off killing someone extremely slowly, first making their skin have an acid effect on the body. After the skin burns off, the blood becomes sticky and acidic. Meanwhile, all the internal organs are flooded with dark magic. This causes them to stop functioning, and to deteriorate from the inside out. But the thing is, you're skin is fine, and there isn't a hint of dark magic in you're body." MP finished, looking at Lily in amazement.

"I believe I have an explanation, Madame Pomfrey." a voice said.

Dumbledore walked into the room, and silence fell.

"Lily is loved very much by her friends, and her fiance. The _Darkonious Strikus _curse thrives on hate, and evil. As Voldemort was the only one in the vicinity who hated her, the love of her friends over powered it. ( he turns to Lily) You are very lucky that you have so many who truly love you as friends, (he looks at James) or something more. Now I suggest you all go home and get some well deserved rest. You did very well tonight, and I'm proud of all of you." Dumbledore said as he left them all speechless.

After a few minutes, Sirius spoke first. "Well that was quick."

So how do you like this chapie? I'm sorry it took so long, but thank you so much for those of you who are **REVIEW**ing. (hint hint) by the way, I'm having a _Palat Expander_ put in on Thursday, (it's a dental device sort of like braces but not) and so I probably won't have another chapter put in until around Saturday or Sunday.

Now, again thanks to all who are **REVIEW**ing. Thank you.

NOTE: I wrote this chapter last Monday, I only just got a chance to post it because my computer wouldn't let me access the file. So sorry for making you wait!


	31. Green

Thank you for you're patience. Now I know that if I left this any longer, I would not live to post it.

_**Ch.31, Green.**_

Soon, it was the big day. The wedding day of Lily and James. All the Order members were there, and so were all of their school friends that weren't Marauders or Birds. The girls had thrown Lily's wedding shower the night before.

---Flashback---

Lily was at Len's, and they had just got back from shopping. Now, they planned on getting to Melissa's to 'ask her opinion on their choices'.

What Lily didn't know, was that all her good friends were at Melissa's planning the surprise of her life.

When the fireplace erupted in green flames, the group already there was hiding in the blind spot behind the fireplace.

When Lily stepped neatly onto the fluffy red and gold carpet in front of the fire, (placed for Sirius' benefit.) she looked around and didn't see anyone, while they were all desperately trying to muffle their sniggers.

"Melissa? Mel, are you here?" Lily called out to the Sirius-kicked-out-of-for-the-time-being house. The moment Len stepped through the fire, the group jumped out.

"Surprise!" they all shouted, and then Melissa quickly took a picture of Lily, on the floor, fallen from surprise.

"Wha?" Lily asked, while rubbing her sore behind.

"Come on Lil, did you really think we would let you get married without a wedding shower? Get up and get opening presents!" Melissa said as she came forward and she and Len picked Lily up by her arms.

They seated the still stunned Lily on the sofa, and she was piled with presents right away. They were all wrapped in green paper, which was her favourite colour.

In the end, she got several things that made her blush and made the small group there howl with laughter. But it was Melissa's present that got the most stares.

By the end of it, Lily had thanked everyone for their gifts and was still beat red from Melissa's present.

"Mel, may I ask you what the heck possessed you to get me a present like that!" Lily asked once they had all gone home and it was just them.

Melissa just smiled.

---End of Flashback---

So now Lily was pacing inside the magically enlarged tent while waiting for the wedding march to start.

"Lily, if you keep pacing, you'll wear out you're shoes." Melissa said. She was in a strapless emerald green dress with a little flower crown on her head.

"You'll be fine Lily." Len said from beside Melissa, in a halter emerald green dress. The bridesmaids and maid of honour had to have different dresses, and Mel was the maid of honour.

But Lily could practically hear her heart beating wildly as the music started, signaling for the wedding march to start. The flower girls (quintuplets) went, then Len went out, soon followed by Melissa.

But Lily got the most stares as she emerged from the tent. her vail was still over her face, but her dress was gorgeous. It was the purest white, strapless with lace covering the bodice. Little lilies were sewn to the dress, in random places, and on the vail. She held a bouquet of white lilies.

Lily almost laughed at the stunned expression on James' face. Sirius, who was beside him, wasn't even looking at her, he was still to mesmerized by Melissa.

When she reached the front, which seemed like forever to James, they said their own vows, which were very sappy, and then Benji raced forward to get a picture of it all. Unfortunately Len and Melissa were cut out, but Sirius, James and Lily were still in. Then, they were officially married.

But the reception was the best. The crowd howled with laughter, as it was the job of the bridesmaid, maid of honour, groom's men, and best man to embarrass the couple.

"In our second year at Hogwarts, Melissa and I were up first for once. So, we took a shower, got dressed, blah blah blah, but then Lily awoke. For a few moments she stared at the fact that we were up before her. So, after staring, she went to take a shower. But Mel and I had wanted nice long showers because we were up very early. Therefore, there was no hot water left. She probably woke up the entire castle by screaming." Len said, making Lily go bright red.

Then Sirius stepped forward. "In the summer of our fourth year, Jamsie here was pranked by his own sisters. ("Padfoot! Don't you dare!" James shouted. Sirius smiled.) The quintuplets decided to take all of James' underwear and ("I'm warning you Padfoot!") put it in random places. They were in the cupboards, on the furniture, even in James' soup! But the winner of best places was ("You are sooo dead Padfoot!") on a flagpole on top of Potter Manor!"

This sent the crowd into peals of laughter. James was blood red, and apparently trying to hide in his chair. Lily was going red herself, but from laughing so hard.

Then Melissa herself stepped up. "This has nothing to do with Hogwarts, but at Lily's 18th birthday. Lily, James, and Remus and Len, were playing a muggle game called Twister. (Insert short explanation of Twister) But then Sirius and I decided to rig the wheel. I do believe I have a picture here somewhere... (she enlarges a picture of the Twister game from previous chapters. Lily and James go red, and so do Remus and Len.) And in my opinion it was quite funny."

And she was right. The crowd was red from not laughing. Then Lily sent them all a death glare, but it was even more funny to see it when she was beat red.

So then they ate the marvelous dinner provided by the house-elves of Potter Manor, and finally, it was time for Lily to toss the bouquet. No one caught it.

Then the bride and groom shared their first dance as husband and wife. Soon the other couples present piled onto the dance floor.

This was the happiest day in Lily's life.

Halloween came and passed, and with a crazy costume party the Order had to celebrate the fact the Voldemort seemed to have settled down a bit.

Melissa decided to get everyone in the group a present on Len's birthday. She handed everyone a box wrapped in, well, wrapping paper.

When Lily and Len opened theirs, they found their aura stones had been put on chains so they could wear them around their necks. The boys didn't get a chain.

"I thought that since so much has happened since we were all at James' house, and all single, we should re-do them. What do you think?" Melissa asked.

"I think it's a wonderful idea! Thank you Mellie!" Len said, and Melissa scowled. Everyone else snickered, they knew she hated that nickname, but no one was allowed to get the birthday girl angry.

James took his stone and put it in his hand. Four colours flowed into it. A large amount of yellow (joy), pink, orange (luck) and gold.

Sirius' stone hadn't changed much. Three colours, pink, red, and blue(pain).

Remus had the same colours as before, except that they were in different amounts. Half the stone was yellow, a large portion of it was pink, and there were only small splashes of red and blue.

Lily gasped as the first colour to enter her stone. Most of the stone had turned green. The rest was a mix of yellow and pink. Sirius and Melissa laughed at this, and Melissa said that the larger the amount of colour, the sooner or more of it. Neither Remus or Len dared to tease, because they both knew that green would be at least one of the colours on Len's stone.

She was right. Len had a slightly less amount of green than Lily did, and there were three other colours on her stone. Pink and Yellow swirled around like a tie-die, but brown had joined the mix.

"What does brown mean?" Len said, partially to get them to stop teasing her and Remus. They had talked about starting a family, and Len knew that Lily had spoken to James about it.

"Oh it's nothing to worry about, it's a pretty dodgey colour. It means bad luck." Melissa answered with a wave of her hand.

But after that, on the same day, Len stubbed her toe five times, broke 3 china bowls, tripped 4 times, and even got a paper cut.

"Nothing to worry about huh?" Len said as she nursed her sore toe, after hitting it on the leg of the coffee table. For the sixth time.

Nothing else really happened for the rest of the year. The number of Order meetings slowly got less and less, and the group's in-training auror got into their final year. Remus' boss found out he was a werewolf and he got fired. The Order soon only gathered for special occasions like birthdays and holidays.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Please note that I will only mention the traitoring, back-stabber rat's name when I must.)

"What have you found out? Is the scum nest finally still?" a cold voice hissed. A figure cowered at his feet. The figure stammered an answer.

"Y-Yes Master. You're plan is working perfectly." he stuttered.

"Excellent. We will let them sleep, then, at the right time, they shall never wake up. You have done well Wormtail." Voldemort sneered.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Around July, the girls decided to drag their husbands/boyfriends to the beach. It was a muggle beach, so no magic. Which led to the boys scowling.

They got to an issolated area, and allowed the boys to use a little magic as long as they were certain that no muggles would see. Soon they had conjured up a nice picnic, and decided to go swimming before they ate. The girls challenged the boys to water volleyball.

"Now remember what happened last time men, we must stay focused!" Sirius said, pacing in front of the two boys just as an army sergeant would. This had James and Remus trying not to laugh.

Meanwhile, Melissa was doing something similar.

"We just have to turn on the charm, and they'll be in the palms of our hands!" Melissa said happily.

"I say we have a little wager Black." Melissa said playfully.

"Oh yeah? What would that be?"

"If we win, you boys have to answer to our (she indicates the girls) every want and whim for the entire day." she said.

"Okay, if we win, you girls have to answer to our every whim for the rest of the day!" Sirius said.

So they did just that. And it would be the understatement of the year if I said the girls barely won.

On their way back to the picnic blanket, Lily demanded that James carry her. It was very hard to carry someone, and wade through chest-deep water at the same time. This led to the other girls demanding/ asking politely to be carried, and to Sirius being silently cursed by the two boys.

When they got to the blanket, Sirius simply dropped Mel onto it, while the other boys put their wives down nicely.

"Aww, why'd you have to be nice to them Prongs and Moony!" he had whined.

James put his arm over Sirius. "Sirius my friend, you are very lucky that Melissa doesn't know that wives have every right to make their spouse sleep on the sofa at night."

Months passed, and September came. Len came back from her first day to report that there was a new crazy old hag for a Divination teacher. She had predicted every teachers' death, unless they went along with her little thing. Len's death had been predicted 10 different ways so far.

More months passed, and as January came in, so did the flu season. There was a simply terrible bout of it at Hogwarts, and soon all of Len's classes, no matter what year, were all in one. Several teachers were sick.

The group decided that Len must have been a carrier. This made her feel very guilty, because Lily was soon sick. About a week and a half after Lily caught it, Len woke up to a very strange feeling. She then bolted for the bathroom, waking Remus up in the prosses. You could hear her throwing up in the toilet.

"I can hear you Len, I'm contacting Dumbledore and telling him you got the flu and can't come in today!" Remus called out, and could barely hear her protests as he sent an owl to Hogwarts.

When he got back, he helped Len up, and marched her right back into bed, despite her protests and complaints. Then, after she was all settled, James popped into the kitchen.

"Hi Remus. How are you?" he asked.

"Len's got the flu. I just sent Dumbledore an owl. Is Lily driving you crazy?" he asked, then scowled as James snatched his waffles from the toaster.

"Why do you think I'm here? I needed some sane moments!" James said in mock exageration.

So the wives of the group were sick. And even though she was around the both of them, trying to help all day long, Melissa somehow didn't catch the flu. Both sick women blatantly refused to go to Saint Mungo's.

So, since both husbands were extremely worried about their annoyed-at-being-sick wives, because neither had a fever. Flu came with a fever.

James was finally able to convince Madam Pomfrey to make a house call. She was up to her neck in sick students and the HW was full. Students were now being treated in their dorms. Classes had been canceled, mainly due to the fact that 75per cent of the teachers were sick.

Lily was sulking in bed. Now she felt absolutely fine, but James wouldn't let her get out of bed. Then, she rolled her eyes. James had convinced MP to make a house call!

Lily seethed as MP gave her an examination, but then announced her perfectly healthy. In fact, she seemed quite happy. MP whispered the reason in Lily's ear, and just as Lily's eyes grew big MP shoed her out of the room to talk to James.

Lily sat down on the sofa with him, and he asked why she looked so stunned.

"James, she said- she said I'm pregnant."

James stared. And stared. And stared some more. After it sunk in, he jumped up and shouted, "YAHOOOO! I'M GOING TO BE A DAD!" Then he picked her up and swung her around. When he was done, he bent down and started talking to Lily's stomach.

"Hello there little guy-" but was cut off by Lily laughing so hard she had to bend over.

Sirius sat stunned in the doorway, as he had apparated in just in time to hear James' shout.

"Prongs, what in Merlin's name are you doing?" he asked as he saw James try to talk to Lily's belly.

But just then MP came out and said, "Now I must be going along, I suggest you go to Saint Mungo's tomorrow Lily, just to get checked out, make sure the baby's okay, that sort of thing. Now you said that Mrs.Lupin has been suffering similar symptoms? I must go and see her. And may I be the first to congratulate you." she said as she apparated to Len's place.

"Lily? You're pregnant?" Sirius asked.

"Yes! I haven't had the flu at all, it was just morning sickness!"Lily said, still very happy.

"Congrats you guys!" he said excitedly.

When MP apparated in to Len's appartment, Melissa was just coming out of Len's room. She had insisted that all her student's work be brought to her, especially the OWL and NEWT grades. Melissa explained to MP that Len was asleep.

Normally she wouldn't have woken a paitient up, but this was special. As she examined a groggy Len, she came to a conclusion.

Len walked out of her room and joined Melissa and Remus and the living room.

She was able to talk when it had finally sunk in. "Guys, I'm pregnant!"

"What?" both Melissa and Remus asked.

"I'm going to have a baby! Remus you're going to be a father!"

Okay, I am so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry it took me so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so long to update! Plz forgive me!


	32. Hello Harry

_**Ch.32, Hello Harry**_

Of course, Remus as ecstatic. He did something very similar to what James did, but didn't pick her up. Melissa laughed and congratulated them, and then Lily and James popped in.

Then, to the annoyance of the boys, all three girls shrieked and hugged each other. This lasted for about 5 minutes, during which the boys congratulated each other in a "civilized" manor, which included conjuring earplugs.

Soon, Melissa reminded them of the girls' aura stone colours, which caused another 10 minutes of shrieking and hugging and talking.

So after all that, Melissa glanced at Sirius and he smiled and nodded.

"Okay girls, you won't believe what happened earlier today." she said.

"What?" Lily asked.

"You didn't say the magic word." Melissa said in a sing song voice.

"Please?" Len asked, and all three girls were getting more and more hyper by the minute.

"I don't know..."

"Pretty please?"

"Pretty please with sugar on top?"

"Pretty please with sugar and chocolate on top?

"You're forgetting something!"

"Pretty please with sugar, chocolate, cherries, icing and caramel on top?" Len said, sending all three girls into a fit of giggles so they didn't even realize their husbands leaving the room to get a snack and more earplugs.

Melissa held up her hand. "Sirius proposed!"

The boys were glad they got earmuffs, as this was the girls' loudest shriek yet.

"Ok, details girl!" Len demanded.

"Well..."

Flashback+

Melissa had gone out shopping in Diagon Alley, just for some simple groceries, as they were out of milk. She arrived home at the precise time she was expected, but the lights were off. She went into the kitchen by memory, and turned on the light. Putting her groceries in the fridge, she went out to the living room, only to see a sight that made her gasp in surprise.

_Someone_ had decorated the living room to be a very romantic setting. There was a table set for two, with candles and dinner that was charmed not to get cold. Soft music was playing in the background, and while she was standing there gawking, _someone_ put their hands over her eyes playfully.

"Guess who?" the extremely familiar voice asked.

"You did all this?" she asked, turning around to see Sirius standing there.

"Yep. I remembered that today, all those years ago, this was the first day I considered asking you out." he said.

She gave him a tight hug, and a kiss. They went over and ate their dinner. After they finished desert (ice cream) the music got louder, and Sirius said in a mock voice, "Would the beautiful lady care do dance?"

Melissa giggled and said, playing along, "Why yes good sir, the beautiful lady would like to dance."

So they danced, for, oh who knows how long, but soon they were heading back to the table.

Melissa looked curiously as Sirius bit his lip, and reached into his pocket.

Melissa's eyes widened as he came over to her end of the table and got down on one knee.

"Melissa, I love you, and frankly, I have no idea what I did to deserve you. I've never felt for anyone the way I feel for you, and I don't think I ever could. Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife? Melissa Smith, will you marry me?" in his hand was a small velvet box that contained a single, diamond ring.

Melissa, with tears brimming in her eyes, said, "Yes!" and flung her arms around her fiance, and he kissed her, to stunned for words that she had actually said yes.

End Flashback+

"Oh my gosh! That was so romantic!" Lily shrieked.

"I know! He was just so sweet!" Melissa said happily.

"Are you girls done yet?" James' voice called out from the kitchen.

All three girls simultaneously rolled their eyes, that sent them into another fit of giggles.

So, once everyone was done talking, Len and Remus contacted Dumbledore to discuss things like the parameters of Maternity leave and such. It was decided that Len would teach classes for a few months, but then go onto official leave, and it will last until the baby was six months old. It was similar parameters with the Auror office for Lily.

The next day, Len went into Hogwarts to be met with congratulations by all the teachers and the Head Boy and Girl. Before Len arrived, (she was only at Hogwarts during class hours) Dumbledore made a speech.

"Now I am sure you have all noticed that even though this dreadful bout of flu has ended, one of our teachers still has not returned."

At this point, the 6th year JM were listening intently, as they had missed their favourite teacher. They hardly ever pranked her, but they still did. Just to make it seem as if she didn't favour them. But it was obvious.

"I am both happy, and sorry to announce, that our Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin, will be leaving around March."

The entire Griffindor table booed loudly. Dumbledore smiled.

"However, this will be temporary. She will be rejoining us the next year, after her Maternity leave has ended!"

The JM's faces broke out into smiles. There were a few cheers, mainly from anywhere but the Slytherins, and plenty of whispers. The older students were explaining to the younger ones what Maternity leave meant.

"So I would like to ask that no _pranks_ be played on her, because there is almost no way of telling how it will effect the baby. Thank you, now go gossip." he finished with a smile.

When Len began her class, all the Griffindors clapped and cheered. She most definitely favoured them above the other houses, as whenever McGonnagle temporarily left the school with Dumbledore on official business, she was appointed temporary head of Griffindor.

It was similar at the Ministry for Lily. Even people who weren't in the Auror's office, like the obsessed Secretary to the Minister, Cornilious Fudge, who ran around the building all day because the Minister found it amusing to watch him run around in a sort of half bow, and practically scream with excitement every time the Minister asked for coffee.

So the months passed, Remus got a job, Lily and Len went off work with a good-bye party form the Griffindors, and Melissa took on a perilous task.

She and a few friends from the Order were planning a joint baby shower for Lily and Len. They went muggle shopping one day because they couldn't find what they were looking for in the wizard world. Luckily their friend from the Order was muggle born, so she knew all this stuff.

Melissa passed a display of a strange looking toy, and asked Samantha what they were. She explained it to the best of her abilities, and Melissa decided that Sirius would love one of these for his birthday. So she bought one.

Lily was at home with Len, and was fuming. Due to her and Len's pregnancy, Dumbledore had told her not to go on an Order mission that the rest of the group were attending. Lily had put up a good fight, and in the end, Dumbledore had discreetly asked if Melissa would mind staying to calm her down.

Len wasn't nearly as worried about Sirius or James as she was about Remus. He was in Saint Mungo's, because it was the full moon. He had told her that his last few transformations hadn't been nearly as hard as the ones a few years ago, because the Healers had perfected the Wolvesbane potion. So really only James and Sirius were on a mission.

Lily was also testy because she had gone on Maternity leave a week ago, and didn't have a thing to do. All the group members didn't dare say a thing that could possibly annoy her, as she had taken to yelling at people as a form of exercise.

But the girls were planning a surprise birthday party for Sirius. Melissa told them what she had gotten him, and Lily and Len cracked up with laughter.

"What's so funny?" Mel asked.

"T-That toy is meant for 6 year olds!" Len explained between laughs.

So the day came, and Sirius was, as he put it, "Seriously surprised!" but there were only a few forced laughs at the long-old pun.

But then, Sirius unwrapped Melissa's present. (duh duh duh duhhhh) His face lit up like a child's at Christmas as he heard the song that went with it.

(Disclaimer: Not mine)

**Slinky,**

**slinky,**

**everybody loves a slinky,**

**slinky,**

**slinky,**

**go slinky go!**

After the muggle-borns that were at the large party explained what to do with it, Sirius conjured up a very long staircase. (Has anyone seen _Ace Ventura: Pet Detective_? That one with the bat, at the beginning there is this really long staircase, it goes up a mountain, about that long.)

By the end of the day, Lily had a silencing charm on him, because, as she had justified herself, "He wouldn't shut up!"

Soon, it became a little dangerous for Lily and Len. They didn't have a defense. They couldn't transform while pregnant, they couldn't apparate now that they were seven months in, and travelling by Port Key wasn't highly recommended. If they were attacked they wouldn't stand a chance if they were outnumbered.

A few days later, the Healers were able to predict when exactly the baby would come. Lily's child's birthday would be July 31st, and Len would be around August tenth. Sirius still had his slinky.

"I can't believe it! I never though muggles were so smart! (receives glares from Lily and Len) Er... no offense of course. 'Slinky, slinky, everybody loves a slinky,'" he said, just fading off the song as he saw that Lily's wand was nearby.

More months passed, and at one time Lily's mood swings got the better of her and she made James sleep on the sofa. Of course, she apologized once she was herself again.

But then, the day came. Lily went into labor, and taken to Saint Mungos. James got frustrated when they wouldn't let him in, but let Melissa and Len in. They had already decided on a name for either a boy or a girl.

"James, relax, she'll be fine, and you're making a hole in the floor." Remus said jokingly. James had not stopped pacing for hours.

But the screams that came from inside the room were not that helpful.

Hours later, when the combined efforts of both Remus and Sirius, who threatened to start singing the Slinky Song if he didn't stop pacing, James was sitting down. But he jumped up right away as a Healer came out of the room.

"You're her husband, correct?" he asked James. He nodded.

The Healer smiled. "You can go in and see her now. There is a certain someone you might want to introduced to."

James raced in, not even caring that Sirius and Remus had not been allowed in, and saw Lily, exhausted, but holding a small bundle of blankets.

Lily smiled when she saw him, and Melissa and Len left, sensing a family bonding moment.

"James, would you like to say hello to you're son?" she asked, and handed him the small bundle.

He took the sleeping boy carefully, and saw, with a smile, that he already had a small tuff of untidy black hair.

"Hello Harry."

IMPORTANT!

Okay, say it with me, AWWWWW! Just to tell you, I plan on finishing this before the summer ends, because with me going into high school, I wont have much time to write. Also, I have decided not to let Len and Melissa die, but to have them go into hiding in Canada. Sorry, but I have to take the out of the story some how! But that will happen in the epilogue. Still a few chapies to come, but will be done by the summer! But whenever I get a holiday that lasts more than a week, I will be starting a new story. I need you're vote on which one I should do first. No extra ideas plz!

(1) a story where Lily isn't that popular, but still falls in love with James after he sees the real her after a summer.

(2)a Harry/Ginny story where Lily and James return. I know I have already done one of those but I like the idea. Can either be as ghosts or actually alive.

(3) a story where James (can't be Lily, sorry, all people who read book five know what I'm talking about) survived the attack and raised Harry himself.

Personally I would prefer to write (1) first, but since I will probably write all of them sooner or later, pick the one you want to see during the Christmas holidays.

Now the only way you can vote is to **REVIEW!**


	33. Growing Babies

NOTE TO REVIEWERS

Trocle, green is the aura stone colour that represents kids.

opalshine, go right ahead and use the name. Thanks for asking.

And so far the vote will end up that I will do the first choice during the Christmas holidays. I have decided that this story will have 35 chapters in all, and the last one will be the epilogue.

**THANK YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING**

_**Ch.33, Growing Babies!**_

Soon Sirius and Remus were allowed to see the baby before he was moved to the Nursery for a few days. Sirius and Remus laughed when the saw the resemblance to James. Last week, James and Lily had asked Sirius and Melissa to be godparents.

It was 'so cute' in the opinion of the girls when Sirius held little Harry, who was still sleeping. But then the nurse came in to take Harry to the Nursery for a check up, and everyone except Lily, who would be let out at the same time Harry was, was kicked out.

Three days later, Lily and James arrived home, with Harry, who looked around with wide eyes. Lily happily noticed that Harry's eyes were exactly the same colour as hers.

"Welcome to you're home Harry." she said softly to the bundle in her arms.

Harry made a little indistinguishable sound and continued to look around.

They gave him the 'grand tour' as James called it, but then they realized that he had fallen asleep on Lily's shoulder. James snapped a quick picture at Lily's whispered insistence, (she wanted to make a rather large scrapbook) and then the happy new parents placed their child in the small nursery they had made out of Lily's old bedroom. It consisted of: a crib, a rocking chair, a box of toys, and anything else you can imagine in a small baby's room.

Of course, they were waken up a few hours into the morning, by a few loud cries.

"How could he be up this early?" James asked groggily.

"If you had read all the stuff that Len and I read on the subject, you would know that babies don't really care if it's morning or night. They wake up whenever they want to." Lily said as she got up and went to Harry's room.

After Harry stopped crying, it was nearly 4 am. They decided that since James had work at 7 am, it would be quite useless to go back to sleep now. So they started their morning routine, Lily made breakfast while James took a shower and got dressed. Lily found it quite amusing when she made the bacon. Harry started crying, and would stop until she took him down so he could see what smelled so good. But he pouted when all he got was baby formula.

Days passed, and soon Lily commented on the remarkable resemblance between James and their son. Both had the same hair, and both had the same eating style: wolfing. Sirius had grown quite attached. One day, he and Harry even had a mock eating contest, even though it was obvious that Sirius let Harry win.

A week after the hospital, Dumbledore even came to visit the little boy. When he held little him, Harry looked up at him with a cute expression on his face. Like awe.

On Harry's two and a half week (yes, James was counting the weeks) anniversary, Remus popped into the Potter house. He looked very happy, but slightly pale.

"I thought you guys might want to know, Len's gone into labour." he said quickly before popping out agian.

Lily stared. Then, she scribbled a quick note to James, who was still at work, grabbed Harry, and Port Key-ed out.

Melissa was in with Len when she got there, and Lily couldn't go in because Harry wouldn't like the screaming. So then she got Sirius to hold him, and went in the room to comfort her friend just as James arrived.

Remus wasn't exactly happy. Since he was a werewolf, he had slightly increased hearing. He could hear his wife's screams loud and clear. But he stopped pacing the moment he heard a babies cry. And it didn't belong to Harry.

The Healer came out of the delivery room and turned to Remus. "You are her husband, correct? I think you might like to know that you're wife and daughter are both healthy, (Babies cries increase) and grouchy. You might want to see them." the healer said.

Remus ran into the room, to see a very disgruntled Len and a bundle of blankets in her arms, wailing her eyes out.

"Remus, meet you're daughter." Len said, as she passed the blankets (pink) to her husband. He took them with a big smile on his face. He sat down in the chair previously occupied by Lily, (they had left)

"She looks so much like you." he said.

"Are you saying I wail my eyes out on a normal basis?" she asked with mock anger.

"No, I meant that she looks gorgeous no matter what she is doing." he said, still looking at his crying daughter.

"Now what should we name her?"

"I've always like the name Crystal. What do you think?" Remus asked, finally looking up from his now sleeping daughter.

"I think it's perfect for her. Now onto the next order of business."

"And that is?" Remus asked, handing Crystal back to her mother.

"When am I going to get out of here?"

Two days later, mainly because Len made herself a right pain in the backside (and Crystal did too), the two Lupin girls were released from hospital. When they got back, they put Crystal right asleep in her crib, in the yellow nursery. The couple had followed Lily's example and changed Len's old bedroom into a nursery. Then, Len Floo'ed to her parent's place, (Let's just imagine that back then all the muggle families with magic children had Floo connections) and told them the wonderful news.

"She's called Crystal. Would you like to see her?" she asked her parents.

"Of course I want to see my granddaughter! She isn't asleep, is she?" her mother asked.

"Yes, but considering Remus put her in her crib 10 minutes ago, she'll be up in 5. She seems to prefer plenty of short naps." Len explained.

"Is that husband of yours still treating you well?" her mother asked strictly.

"Of course he is! He's wonderful! He was so supportive during my pregnancy. He's the best husband a girl could have!"

"All right, all right, we get it. Now let's go see little Crysy." her dad cut in. He then looked at the fireplace cautiously.

"Oh relax, here. Incendio! (the fireplace get's a fire) Now just sprinkle this powder in, and say where you want to go." Len instructed. Her dad still looked reproachful. She rolled her eyes, and stepped into the green flames, and shouted the name of her home.

When she got out, she was met with the cutest sight yet. Remus was holding a laughing Crystal, who had obviously just woken up.

Len's parents tumbled out after her, covered in soot. Crystal, hearing this, looked over and saw her mother with two people she didn't recognize. But to her, that didn't matter, as her mother was back.

Crysy stretched her arms out to her mommy, who walked over and took her from her father. Len's parents (or more her mother) 'aww'ed when they saw this. But then, her parents nearly had a heart attack when 4 people materialized right beside them.

Crysy obviously didn't like so many people around, because she snuggled even more into Len's side.

"Aww, she's shy." Lily cooed.

"Shh, it's okay Crysy." Len said, calming her child enough so she would look around.

Crysy's blue eyes looked at the many new people around her. It was clear to her that her mommy and daddy trusted them, so she felt confident with them.

Harry looked at the little girl that, to him, looked about his age. He had never seen another baby before. The adults all laughed as Harry and Crysy started to have a baby conversation.

The adults didn't understand a word that they babies said, but it was to cute to pass up. Len quickly passed Crysy, who was still talking to Harry, to Remus, who took his daughter carefully. Then, she summoned her camcorder, and got the rest of their conversation on tape.

Babies POV

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

"My mommy and daddy call me Crysy. Who are you?" Crysy asked.

"I'm Harry. This is my mommy." Harry said, talking about the woman holding him.

"This is my daddy, and my mommy is the one with the big black box."

Normal POV

"Would you like to hold her?" Remus asked Len's mother as the babies continues their conversation.

"Oh yes, I would love to." her mother replied as Remus handed her granddaughter to her.

"Crysy, meet you're grandma." Len introduced, still taping.

Crystal stopped her conversation with Harry to look up at her grandma with big blue eyes. (I know that babies can't lift their heads on their own at this age, but lets say that magic babies mature a lot faster than muggle babies.)

Crystal was introduced to the rest of her family and her parent's friends. It seemed that once she saw her that her parents trusted them, she became much more outgoing.

It seemed that the babies soon got bored with the adults, and they re-started their own conversation, which the adults found very amusing to watch.

Remus noticed that Len had a rather forced smile as her mother talked about Crysy meeting all her other relatives soon.

"Uh, mum? Did you see how shy Crysy was when you all came over?" she asked carefully.

"Yes?"

"Well, maybe it would be a good idea for her to meet everyone at once? Sure, she can meet them, but just a few at a time okay?"

Soon the babies stopped their conversation, and Crysy fell asleep on her mother's shoulder. Harry was already asleep. Lily and James left, and Len put Crysy in her crib.

Mel and Sirius left not long after. But then, to Len's horror, her mother started questioning Remus about his family.

"So Remus, I don't think I've met you're parents..." she said.

"Mum, can I talk to you for a sec.?" Len said, as she dragged both her parents into the kitchen.

"What's the matter dear? They aren't dead, are they?" her mother asked.

"Mum, Remus... his parents disowned him after an accident. So did the rest of his family, other than his uncle and aunt. He grew up with them, they were at our wedding." Len explained, knowing her parents wouldn't like it if they found out he was a werewolf. There were muggle tales, after all.

"Oh that poor boy!" her mother said.

"But, why would they disown him if it was an accident?" her father asked.

Len thought about how to explain this without telling them her husband was a werewolf. "Because of the accident, he got a condition. (her mother opens her mouth) It's not contagious or anything, so don't worry. But the wizarding world has stupid prejudices against people with this condition. But don't talk about his parents or anything like that, and don't ask him about his condition. It's a soft spot for him." she said, and then added not to pity him.

"All right. Eeek!"

An owl had landed right in front of Len's mother, who, even though her daughter had been getting owls for years, still wasn't used to it.

Len opened the letter, and then, with a big smile, shouted to Remus to come out.

"It's from Lily! She says that Harry just blew up his first pot!" Len said, handing the letter to Remus, who read it quickly.

"He blew up a pot?" her father asked. "Why is that good?"

"For a wizard, blowing something up is the first sign of magic. It's a milestone, like walking or talking. But even I have to say, that's quite early." Len explained.

"She says that she was trying to get him to eat that baby formula he detests, and the pot it was in blew up!" Remus said with a laugh.

Weeks passed, and soon it was time for Melissa's and Sirius's wedding. Len was the maitren of honour, and James was the best man. Their godchildren (Harry and Crysy) were the ring bearers/ flower girls.

The wedding was small. Sirius only had a few family members that didn't want to kill him, (his Uncle Alphard, cousin Andromeda, and her family) and Melissa's family had disowned her after they heard she was marrying a Black. They did have a bad reputation, after all.

So really it was only friends. But neither Melissa or Sirius really cared, as they were both having the greatest day of their lives.

But Melissa went bright red when Lily and Len decided it was their job to embarrass her with story from their teenage years.

"In our first year, Melissa had this er.. infatuation, with one of our teachers. (Don't you dare!) It was particularly funny, on Valentines day. She wrote him a poetic valentine, but didn't have the courage to sign it. (Some friends you are!) But then, she moped around for days when she found out in our second year, that he had decided to retire to spend more time with his wife. (I hope you have you're wills written out!) But don't worry Sirius, she got over him in third year, when you came along! Good luck you two!" Lily and Len said, alternating sentences. Melissa had her very red head in her arms, and Sirius was laughing his head off.

(At Hogwarts on September 1st)

"And the Forbidden Forest is still forbidden, to those of you who may have, _forgot_. And lastly, Professor Tton, a temporary supply, will be leaving us in January, when our own Professor Lupin will be coming back! And for those of you who may be curious, Len Lupin gave birth to a healthy baby girl on August tenth. I shall not keep you from the feast any longer. Dig in!" Dumbledore announced.

The seventh year JM cheered with the rest of Griffindor. And Hufflepuff. And Ravenclaw. None of the houses, (minus Slytherin) liked Professor Tton that much, mainly because he openly favoured the Slytherins. The fact that they only had one term left to publicly humiliate Tton disappointed the JM a little, but they were equally happy that the easy going, no detentions, Griffindor favouring, Professor Lupin was coming back.

(Hint: look at the name Tton backwards)

James and Sirius were planning Harry's first Halloween. They were laughing when a loud BANG was heard. Both men jumped up and reached for their wands. James panicked as he saw that his wasn't there. Just as he was about to call for Lily, she shouted out to him.

"James! How many times do I have to tell you not to leave you're wand lying around! Harry got a hold of it!" Lily said, as she came out with blue hair.

James and Sirius couldn't help it. They started laughing uncontrollably. They could even hear Harry laughing his cute little baby laugh from the kitchen.

"He is so like you Prongs!" Sirius shouted.

"Truly a son of a Marauder!" James said.

They forgot that Lily still had her wand. (duh duh duh duhhhhh)

At Harry's and Crysy's first Halloween, they dressed the kids up as simple things, like ghosts (Harry) and fairies (Crysy). The kids were particularly happy when the adults pretended to be scared of the kids. But their mothers made sure they didn't get to much candy.

"Oh come on Lils, let Harry have some more candy, his first Halloween can't pass by without him stuffing himself!" James had argued. He got green hair for that one.

After Halloween, it was the time that Len had been slightly dreading. Her relatives were all coming, and it would all be at one time. They all arranged to get off work at one point, but it was just for the weekend.

"Len, relax, you're scaring Crysy." Remus said with a laugh, as he looked from his frantic wife to his daughter, who was looking at Len nervously.

"I know, but she gets scared when there are too many people around, and twenty people at one time will positively terrify her!"

But they came, and Crysy snuggled into her father's side, (Len was to busy being crushed by her relatives) with wide eyes and a trembling lip. Over the months, she had gotten hair like her mother's, but her eyes remained that of her father's.

Remus did his best to comfort her, but his specialty was making her laugh. He was sitting on the sofa in Len's parent's house. Luckily for Crysy, at the moment they were insisting that they see some magic. So he started entertaining his daughter, but silence rang through the house at the first sound the baby had made since all the people entered the room. A sweet, little child's laugh.

Luckily she was paying to much attention to her father that she didn't notice that every eye in the room had turned to her. But then, everyone rushed forward, even with Len telling them not to, and Crysy saw them. She snuggled into her father's side once more, and everyone that had ever been near a crying baby knew that whimpers and a trembling bottom lip were bad signs.

"Shhh, it's okay honey, mommy and daddy are here." Remus soothed as Len pushed her way through the crowd that wanted to see their new niece/grand niece/ cousin (1, 2, and 3 times removed)/ great granddaughter.

But she was still frightened, and so, even at the protesting of Len and Remus, (which didn't make it any better in her mind) tons of people rushed towards her.

A bang and the tinkle of broken china was heard.

Everyone stared at the now broken vase on the table between Crysy and her (unknown to her) relatives. Then, everyone turned to stare at Crysy. Both parents were bustling with pride.

"Oh Crysy, I'm so proud of you!" Len said, and as Remus gently handed her the bundle of blankets. Crysy could tell she had done something good, by the sound of her parent's voices.

"Why would you be proud of something like that? The kid's a safety hazard!" Someone shouted.

Len and Remus looked up from congratulating their daughter to glare at the person.

"Crystal is born a witch. The fact that she can blow something up at this age is wonderful, it practically guarantees power when properly trained. Magical babies don't usually blow something up until 4 months, at least. I'd watch you're mouth Mark, or else you might end up with pink hair my dear cousin." Len said coldly. This shut him up.

"Len, I'm going to go write an owl to the others, they have to hear this!" Remus said excitedly.

And so the group (after the family reunion, which took hours just to let Crysy see everybody, one at a time) had a little party for Crysy blowing her first object up.

Time passed. It was the end of December at Godric's Hollow, and Harry had just had his first Christmas. He was still playing with the miniature flying broomstick (curtesy of James) which made said parent very happy. James had chased Lily around the house for her camera when she caught him playing with Harry in a rather childish way.

But for him the real milestone occurred just after James had come back from a day of work that had went very long. Harry crawled over to him, holding out a toy, asking to play.

But James was exhausted. "Not today Harry, daddy's very tired, the er... (catching Lily's glare at almost using bad language in front of their son) mean people at work were very mean." then he ruffled Harry's hair in a playful way, and walked off.

"Daddy."

James froze. So did Lily, even though the stew was boiling over. They both turned to look at their son, who was looking very pleased with himself for gaining their attention.

James snapped out of his stunned state to ask Harry, "Can you say that again?"

"Daddy!" Harry chirped.

Beaming, James went over and picked his son up and put him on his shoulders. James ended up playing with him for the rest of the night.

**awww!** I just had to enter that little sentimental bit there, it's so cute! Okay, after this, it's just the chapter for that fateful night on Halloween, and the epilogue. Unfortunately, I will have to mention the rat, _Peter Pettigrew_, though he will be called The Rat. Actually, scratch that. He doesn't deserve capitals, or '_the'_ . So he will be addressed as 'rat'.

The vote's still on people! So far, (1) is winning, 4 to zip. Sorry, but I shouldn't officially count votes that could go for any one except three. Story will be done by September 4th, when my summer holidays end. After that, the winner of the vote will come around Christmas, when I get a break for a week or two. R,E&R!


	34. The Beginning of The End

To my lovely reviewers:

Trocle: you're welcome. Anymore questions, just ask.

gat nat nat: You'll live by reading my new story when it comes out at the beginning of my Christmas holidays.

please note, that since everyone so far had voted for (1), I have begun typing the first chapter. See my profile for details.

_**Ch.34, The Beginning of The End**_

The group had another little party with Harry as the guest of honour, all for saying his first word. His parents, particularly James, were beaming the whole time at their son.

Harry himself was quite happy, enjoying a baby conversation with Crysy, and having some cake.

Soon, it was time for Len to go back to Hogwarts. She was fretting around all day, worrying about Crysy, hoping she'll be okay without either of her parents. Since Crysy obviously couldn't stay home alone, Len and Remus agreed to ask Len's parents to babysit. Of course, they agreed whole-heartedly.

But Len was met with a surprise when she entered her 7th years' class. _Someone_ (no one look at the JM) had decorated her classroom with red and gold streamers, balloons, and a large banner saying, 'Welcome Back!'.

"What?" Len muttered. Then, she noticed the JM sitting at the very front of the room, the only students there, with large smiles on their faces.

"Did you?..." she started.

"Welcome back Professor. We've missed you." Zach, obviously still group leader, said.

Then, students started filing in, looking at the decorations in awe. Soon, Len regained control of her voice, and said, "Well, I guess... sit down everybody, sit down. Wands out, quills away!"

Everyone snapped their heads around to look at her. Most had forgotten that it was today she came back. Some cheered at the horrible Professor Tton was gone, while others smiled and took a seat.

"Well, even though I have _no idea_ who might have put these decorations up, thank you. Now as I haven't been here for a year, could someone please tell me who you're supply was, and what he covered?"

Rob raised his hand, and Len nodded to him.

"His name was Professor Tton, and all we did was review."

Len gaped for a moment. "Review? That's all?"

"He said something like 'You won't need much more for you're NEWTs.' and wouldn't listen to a word we said." Carey Parker, a Ravenclaw, said.

"Well that won't do at all. I'll speak to Professor Dumbledore, he was obviously an incompetent teacher. He is completely wrong, and I sorry if this scares you a bit, but you have plenty more to learn before you go into NEWTs. I'll speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if there is anything he can do to get the examiners to lighten up a bit or something. Anyway, it looks like we have some catching up to do!"

So she spent the rest of the class going into light details about a certain spell or aspect, with a simple essay to research the spell or aspect, and write a paper on it, just to make sure they understand it. This was what most of her lessons ended up like, everyone complaining about Tton, and not knowing a thing. Her first years, (now second) only knew what she had taught them the year before. She had two terms to educate this school in Defense.

At the end of the day, she quickly contacted Remus and told him that she'd be late. Then, she headed up to the Headmaster's office, and said the password.

"Ah, Len. What may I do for you?" He asked, turning around in his swively chair.

"Sir, all day long I've been having complaints about the teacher that was here in my absence? I believe his name was Professor Tton?"

"Ah yes. Well it might do you to know that the Daily Prophet has recently discovered that Tton was merely an alias. His real name was Nott. He was identified as a Death Eater just yesterday. I have already spoken to the NEWT and OWL examiners, and they cannot lighten up either tests, but they can postpone them, due to the circumstances." Dumbledore replied.

"Thank you Professor. I'll be sure to tell my students tomorrow." Len said as she turned to leave.

"Oh, and Len?"

Len turned back around. "Yes Professor?"

"Be sure to say hello to you family for me, okay?"

Len smiled. "Yes sir."

Due to her meeting with Dumbledore, Len was later in getting home. She didn't find it strange that Remus wasn't home. The only job he could find that agreed to keep him with his condition was very hard. He had long hours, and little pay.

So, Len got ready to go and get Crysy, when Remus popped in right next to her, startling her.

"Oh Remus, you startled me." she said, after greeting him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Sorry sunshine. Great news! My new supervisor has the flu, and there was a supply in today. he doesn't know about my condition, so he let me off early!" he said, giving her a hug.

"That's great! So should we go and get Crysy now?" Len said excitedly.

"Let's."

When they got to Len's parent's house, they heard a cry. Len immediately ran up the stairs and into the living room, with Remus at her heels.

Crysy was tired. She wanted her mommy, and there were to many people here. Of course, once they had heard that Len's mom was babysitting, all her relatives in the area had rushed up right away to get a look at their kin who they barely saw.

"What are you all doing here! Each and every one of you knows that Crysy doesn't like crowds, now back off!" Len shouted, and people there obviously didn't like the fact that she was so angry her wand was sparking.

Crysy stopped crying right after she heard her mother's voice. Then, she saw her parents pushing through the crowd, and she called out to them.

"Mama! Dada!"

Len froze for a second. Then, she and Remus ran to their daughter.

"Oh Crysy, you're first words! Good job honey!"

"Congrats Crystal! We're going to have to have another party..."

But then Len's family started closing in again, so Len picked Crysy up, and held her close while muttering soothing words to her.

Babies couldn't Floo or apparate, so Remus made a Port Key out of a stone that had fallen by the fireplace. A few seconds later, all three people landed in their home, and Crysy calmed down. In fact, less than five minutes after she was in the place she recognized as home, she was asleep.

"Aww." Len cooed. Remus smiled and took her from her mother, and went into the baby room to put Crysy in her crib.

The group did indeed have another party, where Harry and Crysy both had their own little baby conversation, and watching the adults with interest. Both babies could crawl now, but that was bad news for the grown-ups. As Sirius said, "Well what else would you expect from the child of a Marauder?" For both children were constantly getting into trouble. One time Lily reported that Harry had gotten a bottle of shampoo, and the next time she walked into the storage cupboard, she fell because the floor was so slippery with it. Another time, Len said that Crysy sent the soap from her bath catapulting across the bathroom, literally ricocheting on the walls. But James and Remus complained when both the children got together, and ended up spreading a ton of stuff they had found in jars all over the kitchen floor. Both aforementioned adults fell into it, and got all sticky. Len and Lily were shaking with laughter at the 'sticky scowls' they had on, while trying to get jam, peanut butter, mayonnaise, and everything else the kids could think of that they could open.

It seemed as if they had inherited the pranking skill of both their parents put together. And that was bad news for the victims.

Days passed, and soon the entire group arranged to meet at Lily and James' place. Melissa was with Len and Remus, babysitting while they got ready.

Lily was watching with amusement as James and Sirius played with little Harry in the backyard. Sirius had transformed into a dog and was chasing his tail for Harry's benefit, and James was laughing his head off. She quickly got a camera out and took a few pictures of Padfoot. But unfortunately, he saw this and started chasing after her playfully, still a dog.

But Lily could run now. And transform. All of a sudden, a phoenix was in her place, holding the camera up from the dog and stag that now tried to get it, but with no luck. The bird teased the two 'land animals' by flying up higher, and higher, until there was absolutely no hope of getting the culprit camera.

But then, Remus came out laughing and holding Crysy. He then shouted to the boys, "Watch out! The other girls are coming!"

If the boys were still human, they would have paled. Those three together while transformed were a death trap. James quickly returned to human form, and shouted something to Remus. Then, he went back to his stag form.

"Remus, if something happens to us, look after Harry for me, okay?" he had shouted jokingly.

Then, The Birds came. A brown owl with gold talons hooted above their heads, teasing them and distracting them with the black raven. They didn't notice Lily go back human and conjure up a pool. They didn't notice her flying at James, and picking him up by the antlers, or Len and Melissa struggling to pick the dog up, but finally failing and dropping him. They did notice James being dumped in the pool, and they did notice Remus holding Crysy in one arm, and Len's camcorder in the other.

Sirius chased after him, and after putting Crysy in the playpen with Harry, Remus ran off, handing the tape to the owl. The kids started laughing. The dog then went after Len, even though she had flown up to the roof.

Time passed. Strangely, both Harry and Crysy took their first steps at Melissa's birthday party. This caused another party to be planned, as a celebration.

Soon the kids experienced their first April Fools. After Remus and James explained what April Fools was, both kids were bouncing up and down with anticipation.

James' explanation: "This day is the only day you wont get in trouble for turning mommy's hair blue."

Remus' explanation: "Remember when you turned Grandma's hair yellow? If you do that today, you wont get in trouble."

And, unfortunately for him, Dumbledore just happened to visit on April Fools, where he found all the adults with different coloured hair.

He visited Harry last, and ended up going back to Hogwarts with a red and gold beard.

Exactly one month later, the girls (minus Melissa) planned another party. The reason Melissa wasn't in on it, was because the party was for her. The girls called it the 'all the birds are going to have families now!' party. Correct, Melissa was pregnant.

Sirius was absolutely ecstatic when he heard. He was bothering them with nothing but baby names ever since. He had even (finally) forgotten his slinky.

The girls found it cute that he was this obsessed with the baby.

As the summer started, the group received a few visitors. The JM had come to thank the original Marauders for giving them their inspiration. Of course, this just made their egos even bigger, but they also thanked Len for getting them out of trouble so many times, and for being a great teacher.

Then, Len was immensely happy after Crysy's first beach trip. Len and Remus had taken her in the shallow area, and she had been a natural around water. She swam like a fish, and that came to be her new nickname with her parents. Little Fish.

But then the group had a much larger mission on their hands. It was going to be risky, but the entire group volunteered. A few Order members were in on it, but not many. It would have to be tricky, since they needed the art of surprise. Without that, the mission would never be a complete success. Plus, he would never suspect a thing.

Correct, the group was planning Harry's first surprise birthday party.

The group had bought plenty of little toys, including a faster miniature broom model from James. (like those ones described in the fourth book, at the World Cup) and Harry would be able to ride on it, but not high. And, at Lily's insistence, only if one of them was watching him.

At the party, Harry was very happy with his gifts. Sirius had gotten him, to Lily and Melissa's horror, a slinky. Thankfully, he didn't seem at all interested in it as much as the broom.

James watched with a growing smile as the broom flew right into Harry's hand, without any hesitation. He flew around the living room for a bit, and James was proud. Of course, it was obvious he wouldn't need many lessons, James had been looking forward to teaching his son how to fly a broom. But he didn't know Quiditch yet.

But then, for the first time in his life, Harry was able to eat as much cake as he wanted. He didn't pass up this opportunity. Lily had made a cake that had written in icing, 'Happy 1st Birthday Harry!'. He had a large (for his age) piece of cake.

But even after Harry's birthday party, they then had Crysy's to plan. It was going to be small, just the group and Crysy's grandparents. Len had dressed Crysy up in a gorgeous pink frilly dress. Everyone 'awwed' when she came into the room. Len had charmed it to sparkle. Crysy also got: a photo album from Len's parents, a pet cat from Len and Remus, a copy of 101 Pranks we Pulled on the Slytherins by: The Marauders (for when she was older) from James and Sirius, and from Lily and Melissa she got an assortment of fake dress up clothes.

More time passed, and both children started to develop more, looks wise. Crystal was now 'a spitting image' of her mother, as said by Remus, after complementing Crysy on how she looked, making Len blush. Lily continued to get frustrated with Harry's hair, until a laughing James told her that the Potter hair was hereditary, his father, grandfather, great grandfather, and so on, had all had it, and so did Harry. There was no hope. She gave up after that.

Now both babies had a small vocabulary. They could say words like 'hi' and 'bye bye'. One day, when Len's parents had agreed to babysit both Harry and Crysy, they regretted it. The children found muggle stuff fascinating. They particularly liked the volume dial on the speakers, but got upset when no matter how much they turned it, nothing happened. (Whoever turned it on properly next would get a surprise)

Somehow, they broke the child lock on the VCR, and stuffed all sorts of things in it. Things such as, leaves, stones, candy wrappers, small twigs, that sort of thing.

Then, in the middle of September, the Quiditch World cup came along, and the group (plus Harry) decided to attend. However, Len had stayed home with Crysy, since she definitely wouldn't like all the crowds. She would watch on a small screen (sort of like a TV) that was sold to allow quiditch fans to view the game, even if the couldn't be there.

It was, amazingly, England versus France, and of course, the group was supporting England. They all laughed when James bought a hat that had a little British flag mounted on the top of it, then, for a joke, put it on Harry's head. It was so big on him, that it covered his entire head. Remus, using Len's camcorder, got the whole occasion on tape. England won, but the match lasted 4 and a half hours. Harry had fallen asleep during the middle, but had woken up for the end. They bought another hat, shrunk it so it fit Harry, and put it on him.

At the beginning of October, it seemed as if Harry and Crysy had an obsession with leaves. Once they were at Lily and James' house, visiting, and the moment all the adults had the leaves in a pile, and were about to vanish them, the kids jumped in. Soon, just for fun, the adults joined them, and by the end of it, everyone had leaves in their hair.

But every beginning, has it's ending.

After the group had all gone home early from the Halloween party, (Crysy fell asleep)but Harry had accidentally gotten some of the adults' coffee, and was wide awake, and hyper. James was flying around with him in the living room. They were chasing a small, slow, snitch that came with the broom. it was obvious that James was letting Harry win. Harry grabbed the small golden ball, and cheered. James pretended to be sad that he lost.

"Are you two done out there? Harry should be going to bed soon James!"

James was silently mocking Lily, making Harry laugh. But then, even though Harry obviously wasn't tired, James did what Lily asked him and put him in bed. For hours Harry lie awake, not knowing that his life was about to change forever.

Lily and James were on the sofa in the living room, looking through the pictures/tapes that Len had gotten over the years. Lily had laughed herself silly over the videos. But then, the door crashed down. Both adults were immediately alert, and grabbed their wands.

"Lily, it's HIM! Take Harry and run!" James shouted, sending a spell to Voldemort.

Lily, scared for her child into instant obedience, ran upstairs to where Harry was crying silently, having heard the shouts. She thought frantically. She couldn't apparate with Harry, nor take the Floo. She needed to be calm to make a Port Key, and calm was one thing she wasn't. Her only chance was the window. If she could transform into her phoenix form and carry Harry out, they could live.

Just as she was about to transform, she heard a yell. No, she thought, no no no no no. He can't be dead.

Harry was crying, having guessed his father's death.

But then Lily came to her senses. Just as she was about to transform, the window magically snapped shut. She turned around and faced Voldemort, gently dropping Harry into the crib, desperately hoping he wouldn't notice.

But Harry was crying to much. Voldemort sneered.

"Come Mudblood, give me the boy and I will kill both you and him quickly."

Lily stood her ground in front of the crib. "NO! Take me instead!" she shouted, remembering one of her extra-curricular courses from Hogwarts on Ancient Magic. She knew she was going to die.

"Stand aside girl. Fine. AVADA KEDAVERA!"

Lily crumpled with a scream. But Voldemort wasn't paying attention to the small strand of magic that dissolved into Harry's body after her death.

You know the rest.


	35. Epilogue

Ok, just so you all know, I am very touched that you liked my story so much. But, at the beginning of my Christmas holidays, I will be posting my new story, **_A Complicated Girl._** Check my profile for details!

And I would like to thank the following people for reviewing throughout my story:

gat nat nat

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I think that's everyone, if I missed you plz tell me so I can edit.

_**Ch.35, Epilogue**_

The next morning, when the rest of the group had been told, (Sirius had already run after rat) it fell over them like a suffocating blanket. Lily and James, dead, and poor little Harry orphaned. Of course, each member of the now small, group had volunteered to take him in. But they were told that Dumbledore had plans for him.

After that, everyone seemed to fall into a deep depression. Even Crysy was sad, because she sensed that something very bad had happened. Len and Melissa had more than one crying fit. The Birds weren't the birds anymore, and neither were the marauders. Remus was taking it very hard. He was the only Marauder left now, with Sirius in Azkaban, and James dead. Don't even get him started on rat.

Soon Melissa gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Orion. Of course, she didn't believe that Sirius was guilty, and the entire (remaining) group had testified for him. Or at least, they would have, if he had gotten a trial. Melissa had gone straight to the Minister of Magic, and complained. After, she had gotten fired from her Auror career.

But nothing happened. With half of their group gone, the depression wouldn't go away. And the remaining Death Eaters still wanted vengeance for their fallen Lord. The group was attacked day in and day out. They were starting to fear for their safety.

Then, the Order that had not disbanded decided that they should leave the country. They wouldn't hear of it, how would they know when it was safe to return?

But then, after the next attack, Crysy and Orion were almost killed. This gave them a little push.

It was decided that Melissa and Len would go to Canada, until the children were old enough to come back. Remus desperately wanted to go with his family, but someone had to stay behind. And since neither baby would leave their mother, Remus was the optimal choice.

At a teary farewell, the couple parted ways, hopefully not forever.

"Crysy," said a teary Len, "say bye-bye to Dada." she handed Remus his daughter, probably the last time he would hold her for the next 15 years or so.

"Bye-bye Crysy." Remus said, barely holding back tears himself.

Crysy held onto his finger with her little hand, and said, "Bye-bye, Dada."

Then, with one last parting kiss, and agreeing to write as much as possible,Len and Crysy grabbed a hold of the Port Key.

The next times were hard. After Crysy realized that her father wasn't coming back, she started crying non stop. Remus sank into a very deep depression. He lost job after job, and never stopped thinking about his family.

The remaining birds weren't much better. Len and Melissa bought a flat that would be good for their children to grow up in. Len got a teaching job at the regional magic school, by recommendation from Dumbledore. Crystal and Orion grew up like brother and sister, looking out for each other, taking care of one another. Len constantly sent tapes to Remus, and he sent more back. Crysy was happy to see these, and it made her grow up not bitter about having no father with her. Orion looked at all the tapes of Sirius that the group had, so he realized how much like his father he really was. This made him see why Sirius went after rat, and why he convinced Lily and James about the Secret Keeper stuff. He had told Melissa, and after the event, she had told the others. This made him grow up not nearly as bitter as he normally would have been.

Every few holidays, Remus would sneak up to visit them, but only for a few days. But Crystal was very happy to see her father, even if not for long. He was there to see her off on the train to her magic school, and at some Christmases. She wrote him constantly, so in a way, she did grow up with a father. Crystal and her father were extremely alike, attitude wise. She never got over her shyness, but in a way, that was good. It meant that she would take longer to trust someone.

When Hagrid wrote them for pictures, they sent all the pictures they had. Dumbledore told Remus stuff, and he told them. So they were caught up with the events in Harry's life. Melissa was upset that she couldn't see her godson. Remember, she was named godmother. But in the eyes of the two mothers, their children came first. They taught them all the qualities they would need, like loyalty, and love. Both children ended up in the Griffindor equivalent in their magic school. They never lied to them.

But until Voldemort was destroyed once and for all, they couldn't return to England.

Oh that was so hard to write. I had tears in my eyes at the Port Key part. I know it's not long, but epilogues generally aren't.

Ok, thanks so much everyone for reading and reviewing. And being nice reviewers. For details on my new story, see my profile. (1) won the vote, so (1) will be the one I write. Look for it around the Christmas holidays.

I have had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you've had fun reading it.

Bye! Thanks again! 8 )


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